The Wild Side
by True Radical Dreamer
Summary: Judy Hopps graduates from the ZPD Academy faster than anyone at City Hall anticipated. Without any support or equipment ready in time, Chief Bogo has to come up with some way other than parking duty to keep the rabbit out of his horns. What job can he give the junior officer that will send her running back to her burrow? Why, the most thankless of all: Undercover Duty.
1. Chapter 1

First thought that comes to everyone's mind: Why am I writing this? Answer: Because I liked the movie. And I've always wanted to write a crime serial. Bit of column A and a bit of column B, I think. Anyway! It shouldn't detract from any of my current stuff.

 _Disclaimer: Purely a non-profit fan creation. Don't sue me, please._

* * *

 **"C** hief, I'm _not_ just a token bunny!"

Chief Bogo, an otherwise rational and successful bull of some thirty-odd years, valiantly resisted the urge to ram his forehead into something hard. He was getting too old for this shit. He had known about Hopps, or someone like her, for a few months now, but the long-eared headache hadn't been slated to graduate for at least another year. Mayor Lionheart's Mammal Inclusion Initiative had moved through the city council much faster than anyone had anticipated and Hopps had entered, and successfully graduated, the police academy almost a year before he was ready for her.

Hell, she had just about shown up out of the blue. The deputy mayor had called him in a complete tizzy and told him to get his officers prepared for Hopps' arrival that morning. Sensitivity training and briefings hadn't even been drawn up yet and the small mammal standard issue gear was still technically in the conceptual stages. He heard that Lionheart had only just made it to her surprise graduation.

Judy Hopps had ran a 100 yard dash while Zootopian bureaucracy had been training for the Sloth Olympiad. Bellwether promised that she would redline at least another uniform for Hopps and some rabbit sensitivity information to him by the end of the week. That certainly didn't help him **now** , though.

A furious thumping brought the bull back to his unpleasant reality. Hopps' little foot was beating out a deepening little sforzando the longer he left her without an assignment. She apparently did not like the emergency desk job he had pulled out of his ass for her.

If only the little traffic cars had been delivered he could just stick her on traffic duty until the public attention was off of her and then he could drum her out of the force. Real life never worked out so perfectly, though.

"Look, I don't care what you want," Bogo snorted. He leaned down until his hot breath was shaking the rabbit's ears. "The ZPD is not your personal dog and pony show, Hopps. _I_ decide the assignments, not you. Adjust that attitude or the only policing you'll ever do will be from the inside of the evidence cage."

To the little bunny's credit, she didn't so much as bat an eye when Bogo's horns were on either side of her head. "I graduated at the top of my class. How many other top graduates have you put on a desk job their first day?" Bogo flinched back and Hopps surged forward. "I know I can handle anything you throw at me, Chief. Just give me a chance. I'll take anything, but please just put me on the street!"

Bogo was about to really rip the rabbit a new one when a thought struck him. It was horrible, brilliant, and probably several code violations – _but_ – it would get that bunny out of his horns.

"Alright, Hopps. You get a shot." The look the rabbit gave him was so disgustingly trusting. Bogo told himself this would all work out in the end. It was really for her own good; police work was far, far too dangerous for a chirpy little rabbit like her. "I'm putting you in Special Branch."

"Special Branch!" They were the division that was responsible for the big-ticket crimes! Murders, drugs busts, industrial espionage – they were the detective's detectives.

And she was going to be one!

Judy snapped to attention and gave Chief Bogo the most perfect, crisp salute he'd ever received. "I won't let you down, Sir!"

"I'm counting on it, Hopps. You can report to Special Branch today to get oriented. Lieutenant Oswalt will get you sorted. His office is down past the evidence lockers on the right."

"Got it, Chief. Do I get my spare equipment now or-"

"Won't need it. You'll understand when you talk to Oswalt. I'll call ahead and tell him you're on your way."

As Judy bounded off, Bogo resigned himself to getting a lashing from Oswalt. As funny as it would be to just let Hopps show up, he had to get Oswalt on the same page to nip this little thorn right out of the department's side.

* * *

Judy Hopps was used to being stared at. As the first rabbit on Zootopia's police force, she had been told to expect it by all of the mayor's public relations animals. Their advice, which Judy had taken to heart, was to imply smile back at them.

Her face was getting kind of tired, though. She'd been smiling all morning.

Twice Judy had been forced to show her full stack of credentials to get access to mundane areas of the precinct. One particularly difficult wolf had even called Bogo's office when she had tried to get into the evidence area. Listening to that chewing-out worth the extra hassle.

Once she was back in the Special Branch area, though, Judy faced much less hostility. It didn't hurt that most of the officers she was now sharing the hallways with were from the Mouse Division. For once animals were having to get out of _her_ way.

It was a bit difficult to find Lieutenant Oswalt's office. Judy had to ask several mice to direct her to normal-sized hallways for detours, but eventually she found his door. Two doors, actually. One tiny mouse-size one and a regular one. Judy checked her uniform over for good measure and then gave the normal door a solid knock.

"Don't just stand out there like a tourist," cracked a gravelly voice from within. "Get in here."

Judy fumbled with the doorknob for an embarrassingly long moment before finally stepping inside. Instantly she was overwhelmed with the cloud of dust, fur dander, and tobacco smoke that hovered in the air like mist in the Rainforest District. Judy waved her hand around but it did nothing to clear the air.

The little brown ball of fur sitting behind a much too large desk was grumbling to itself between full puffs on a cigarette that was nearly as big as his entire mouth. When Judy stepped up to his desk, with precise academy precision, the rat looked at her like she was mentally damaged. When she actually saluted he put out his cigarette and let his head bang against the top of his desk.

"Bogo is fucking nuts," Lieutenant Oswalt muttered. He rubbed his eyes and glanced back up. His expression turned pained when Judy was still there, saluting, but looking more and more nervous and uncomfortable by the second. "Jesus, fine. Fine. I thought he was kidding me about this…" The rat returned the salute and flopped his hand in the vague direction of a chair big enough for Judy to sit on.

"Officer Judy Hopps, reporting for duty. It's an honor, Sir, to be here!"

"Yeah, yeah. We're all honored," Oswalt grumbled as fumbled with both the oversized cigarette and his flip lighter. The fresh smell of burning tobacco made her nose twitch. She wondered how the rat could stand it. "Listen, if you know what's good for you, you would resign right now and save us both a lot of time and effort. I get the feeling you're not going to do me that favor, though."

Judy sat up straighter in her chair. "No, Sir. I came here to be a police officer. I can do the job. I'm trained for it."

Oswalt grinned, showing off all the little needle-like teeth in his mouth. "Oh, I'm sure you never learned any of this at the Academy. You'll be resigning in a week, Bogo thinks. I'm reserving judgement."

It wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement, but Judy would take it. She hazarded a smile. "I won't let you down, Lieutenant. So! What's my first case? Murderer on the loose? Riot duty? Drug bust?"

"A little bit of everything." The rat shuffled around some files on his desk until he found the one he was looking for. It was a small red folder that he slid over to Judy. "Congratulations and welcome to your new life."

More than a little confused, Judy flipped open the folder. Inside was a map of the Zootopia center district, a set of keys, a few hundred dollars in random bills, a flip phone, and a small black address book. The book turned out to be full of names and species with a few phone numbers mixed in.

"The money is all you're going to get for a new set of clothes and some food, so don't waste it," Oswalt said. "Your new apartment has been completely cleaned out except for the bed and some basic furniture, so get used to lean living until you've firmly established your identity. The phone, though, is paid for by the station. My direct line is in its address book as 'Professor Padraic', but don't use it unless it's an emergency."

Judy held out the armful of items. "Sir, I don't understand. What is all this?"

"Bogo didn't even tell you that you're in Special Branch now?"

"No, no! He told me that, but this…"

Oswalt looked at her funny for a second before glancing at the front of his desk. "Oh, for the love of…look around your feet for a plaque, Hopps. Damn thing keeps falling off."

Dutifully, Judy began groping around through the dirty, matted carpet, brushing away years' worth of dust balls and cigarette ash until her nails tapped against something metallic. She brought it up to the sunlight piercing the dust. "'Lieutenant Oswalt, Chief of the UC.' The 'you see'?"

"Under Cover." His grin turned just a little bit vicious. He held out his tiny hand. "I'm going to need that badge of yours, Agent Hopps."

Four hours, two orientations, and three sergeant briefings later Judy Hopps walked out of ZPD for the last time in what she understood would be months. No badge. No proof she was actually a cop beyond the secret codes used by the other undercover agents. No help. No partner. She would have to come up with an identity on her own, establish her own contacts, and work cases as they came down the long, convoluted pipe with little or no official recognition.

The only thing Judy Hopps _did_ have were the keys to a new apartment in Sahara Square and a little black book filled with information on small-time con artist that regularly took on help. One of these animals, Lieutenant Oswalt insisted, was the key to bringing down the most notorious crime ring in Zootopia. Bogo and Oswalt both seemed to think that this would break her or make her get out of the force, but she would show them.

After all, she had been learning about crime her entire life – how hard could it possibly be to pretend to be a criminal?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2! Over 5,000 words! Have I said already how much I like writing stuff like this? Because I do.

Big thanks to everyone who has given me some encouragement. And for not lynching me for starting something new. That helps as well.

* * *

Judy jiggled the key, praying that it would finally catch on the lock. She had been standing there at the door of her new apartment for a solid five minutes, trying to get her key to work. So far, two badgers and a coyote had gone past and none of them looked too happy to see a little rabbit in their apartment building. The coyote had even lingered, watching, until she flashed the too-small bottle of fox repellent at him menacingly. He'd smiled and snapped his teeth at her, which scared her enough that she'd dropped her duffle bag full of new clothes. He'd gotten a great laugh out of it, but Judy's nerves were in tatters.

 _Open, open, open, open…yes!_ She surged into the new space as fast as she could kick her bag inside and slammed the door behind her. This was stupid. She was going to have to _work_ with animals like coyotes. Work well with them, in fact. She couldn't be scared of them or it would blow her cover.

The little rabbit picked up her abused bag and took stock of her new digs. It was annoyingly better than the apartment she had managed to land Downtown. There was a bedroom, small kitchen, and a bath with a combination shower and bathtub. Judy supposed that getting to live here rent-free was one of the few perks of this assignment - if you could look past the building being full of predators.

And then she saw it: the air conditioner. Suddenly predators were worth it. An entire boatload of foxes were worth it. Judy turned it on full-blast with only the slightest bit of unprofessional smugness when she realized Bogo would be getting the utilities bill as well.

With that little bit of vengeance dealt, Judy started making a tally of everything she would have to buy. The agent that had been here before her had cleaned the place out, or maybe it had been emptied by the other tenants (which would explain the lock's shape), but there was still a bed and a ratty old sofa. Judy plugged in her laptop tossed it onto the cushions to charge while she went about unpacking the clothes she'd bought. Fortunately her bedroom had a small dressing mirror that was bolted into the wall.

The role they had given her back at the station was for Judy Lop (both annoyingly-common rabbit names) – a former small time sneak thief from the Burrows district. Oswalt had a case file made for Judy Lop and put a few small active warrants on her just to give the alias some credibility. Anyone who seriously inquired for references would find them thanks to a few select agents embedded into the prison system who were there for just that sort of business.

Judy held up a black turtleneck she'd bought against her chest and looked at her reflection. It just screamed _burglar_ to her. She even bought matching pants and a ski cap, just like all the thugs in the crime movies she loved so much wore.

In fact…

Ten minutes later and Judy was looking at an all-new bunny. The ski cap even had two cut-outs for her ears. She tried to make a menacing face, just like the Slowker would do in a _Bat Detective_ comic book. Judy Hopps would never be caught dead admitting that she looked kind of cool like this, but Judy Lopps couldn't have any such qualms. And darn did she wear it well.

 _Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooooooooh~_

Judy nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone started going off. She scrambled for her bed and flipped it open on the third ring. "J-Judy here!"

Oswalt's cackling filled the earpiece. "Someone's wound tight. I'm guessing you've settled in? Met the neighbors? Most of them have rap sheets longer than you are tall, so I wouldn't invite them over for tea and carrots."

"I'm settled, Lieuten- _Professor_."

Judy had no idea why she was whispering, but she was. Wasn't that what criminals were supposed to do on their phones? Oswalt seemed to find that even more amusing and spoke in his normal, scratchy baritone. "Good, good. I hope you've got that wardrobe change we spoke about because you're on the clock tonight."

Instantly Judy perked up. On the clock! "What is it?"

"There's a local dive called Oasis. I'll send the directions to your phone. Point is, it's a major hangout for criminals in your district. It's billed as a _members-only_ club that's it's been raided half a dozen times in three years. Each time we've caught at least four animals with a warrant out on them. You're going to have to be a regular there from now on."

A nighttime rendezvous at a seedy bar? It was just like one of her crime serials now! "You can count on me, Sir! I won't let you down!"

"Hopps, seriously, drop that 'eager young cop' shit or you're going to be marked the second you get inside."

"Yes, Sir. I mean, I'll try. Sir. Professor." Judy flushed at the annoyed groan Oswalt let slip through the phone. "I won't mess this up."

"For your sake, I hope not. The nearest marked patrol to the Oasis is a five minute drive in good traffic." There was that sigh again. "Good luck." The 'you're going to need it' was understood to be at the end. "Just sit there, order a few drinks, and don't start any conversations. If someone talks to you first, go nuts, but don't start peppering everyone with questions like some up-jumped rookie cop. This is the long con. Patience and routine are your weapons. And don't forget your cover, _Lopps_."

Judy took a breath. "Patience. Routine. Long con. Judy Lopps. Got it." Suddenly things seemed a lot more real than they had while she was shopping, or even getting into her apartment. Five minute wait on backup, if she could even figure out a way to call for it. She was going to see _actual criminals_ and have to get along with them.

Oswalt clicked his teeth when Judy didn't follow her repetitions up with anything. "Don't think about it too much. You remember what it was like to not be a cop, right? Just act like that. It was only a few months ago that you were pussyfooting around with your rabbit pals back in the sticks without a badge or training or anything else. Just shoot the shit with someone if they start talking first. Make some connections. Try and make it look natural."

That was easy for him to say back at the precinct. "I'll try," she said, realizing that all that talk about friends and being a civilian didn't really apply to her. Becoming a cop had been her entire life. When you turn in an entire high school party for underage drinking so you could spend a few hours talking to the police, you tend to fall out of certain social circles.

Her phone buzzed. Oswalt hand hung up and sent her the directions to the Oasis. She nervously adjusted her ski cap and, after a moment's deliberation, pocketed the taser she'd been issued. It wouldn't put down anything bigger than a wildebeest but it was better than nothing. The little black shocker slid easily into one of the pouches on the utility belt she was wearing.

Judy stopped at her apartment door. That coyote could be out there.

But…so what if he was? The worst he had done was snap his teeth to get a jump out of her. There would be animals at the Oasis that were actual thieves, thugs, and maybe even murderers. Who would be scared of some bored coyote?

"Judy Hopps is scared of him," she whispered to herself, "but Judy _Lopps_ isn't. Judy _Lopps_ climbs buildings and steals jewels. Judy _Lopps_ has been a bouncer at a bar." Judy smiled. "Judy _Lopps_ once beat up a fox. No! Two foxes. At the same time. Judy _Lopps_ used to run a moonshine operation in high school."

She unlocked the door and took a step out. No coyotes. Judy squared her shoulders and put on her best scowl. "Judy _Lopps_ can walk all the way to a seedy bar at nine o'clock at night without looking over her shoulder once," Judy whispered to herself. "Judy _Lopps_ wouldn't be nervous on her first case."

Technically, Judy Lopps would never even be on a case. She'd be skulking around, looking for new marks. Judy thought it would take some time to work up to that, though, so she stuck with just trying to project confidence as she stepped out into the cold Saharan night.

Judy shunned the sandstone sidewalks to stroll on the dunes. The cool sand felt amazing on her hocks, unbound as they were, after days of walking on concrete. She took the time to exult in the feeling of the natural surface for as long as she could. More conveniently, she missed all the night traffic from non-desert-friendly animals and made excellent time. In the distance the massive Palms Hotel blazed like a torch in the night sky.

The Oasis Bar was, just as Oswalt had explained, a complete dive. There was a gaudy neon palm tree splashed across the front of the building that buzzed on and off. As Judy approached, that sign lit up a shadowed door where _something_ lurked in the darkness. She watched one mammal, a sleek mountain lion, walk up to the door, saying something, and then get let inside.

Judy _Lopps_ wouldn't be scared of a bouncer.

This particular bouncer she recognized, though. It was the coyote from her apartment building! He recognized her about the same time as she recognized him and a wide smile came over his muzzle. He had changed out of his dirty wife beater and into somewhat nice duds; his looking more civilized help steel Judy's nerves.

"Well, if it isn't Carrot Cottontail. Did you get lost on the bunny trail?"

Judy bit the inside of her lip. Think Lopps, not Hopps. She stomped right up to the nonplussed coyote and poked him in the stomach (coincidently, the highest part of his body she could reach).

"Listen, Buster. I want a drink and you're in my way." She would have added a snappy 'so move!' at the end of that, but there was no reason to be outright rude.

The coyote mouthed _buster?_ to himself before out an aggravated puff of air and swatting Judy's finger away. "Okay, I'm being nice here because I know you rabbits are a bit impaired, but you're really going to have to move along. This is a private establishment."

Ah, the dumb bunny insult. Even after hearing it from a dozen different predators it never lost its unique ability to get right under Judy's fur. Her foot began a quick drumbeat all on its own. "Funny that I don't see a sign saying it's private."

"You see me standing out here, don't you?"

"I see you _loitering_."

"Loitering? You on the neighborhood watch or something?" He let out a yipping laugh. "Hit the bricks, Bunny, before I hit them with your face."

That laugh showcased rows of pearly ivories. The canine grinned wider when Judy started backing up.

And then he snapped his teeth again.

Would Judy _Lopps_ take something like that from a two-bit fleabag? A glorified weekend bouncer with no better way to make money?

"I resent that," the coyote growled. Judy hadn't realized she'd said most of that out loud. She almost apologized, even, until she remembered she was Judy Lopps - tough as nails hare who was one of Bunnyburrow's most notorious burglars. When the coyote took a threatening step forward, Judy lifted her chin and took one toward him as well. Her hair was only standing up a little as the bigger canine loomed over her.

When staring down the stubborn bunny didn't work, the coyote did something rash: he grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. Most prey, when grabbed just the right way, instinctively (and conveniently) folded up and in like luggage.

Most prey hadn't been at the ZPD Police Academy for the better part of ten months.

Judy reacted on pure police instinct and kicked the coyote's leg right where all the delicate little bones of a canine's foot had so nicely bunched up together with the springy force of a jackhammer. She didn't break anything, but the predator went down like a sack of sore bricks. Normally this is where another officer would come and make the actual arrest, but Judy was left with only watching the tough-looking animal rolling on the ground.

"You crazy rabbit!" he screamed. Judy hopped out of the way of a wild swipe of his paw, but the movement caused his foot to scrape on the sidewalk and he howled again in pain. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

She was still a little in shock from the whole affair. She had just dropped a predator! By _herself_! On the street! On a **case**! Judy actually felt around her waist for a set of cuffs before she remembered she was undercover. Could undercover cops even arrest people? Surely she wasn't supposed to just leave a violent predator where he could hurt some other innocent passerby?

The coyote let out a shrill yelp when Judy's taser put two electrified needles into his side. Judy felt horrible about it, but she didn't have a choice. She justified the spat of violence to herself as keeping her cover. She certainly couldn't have just left the coyote flopping around on the bar's front door, could she? It was a difficult weight to manage. Luckily, Judy was fairly athletic for a rabbit and could pull the lean canine around to the side of the bar. He would wake up in a few hours with a bad headache and a sore foot. All that was left to do now was enjoy the seedy little bar for all it was worth! Judy covered the coyote with an old piece of cardboard and hopped back around to the door.

Oh, but it was a _little_ bit exciting. Not that she enjoyed beating up anyone! Not even a big, scary coyote who had called her 'Carrot Cottontail'. She was just happy that she had (temporarily) taken her first criminal off the streets. If only Chief Bogo could see her now! That dog would be out for a few hours at least, which was more than enough time for her to make her face known inside.

The door to the bar was still closed. Judy's ears detected a subtle thrumming through the door that she hadn't noticed before. It wasn't Gazelle, but it was definitely music. Somehow she hadn't expected a bar full of criminals to even have that. One deep, calmer, breath later and Judy inside.

It wasn't, Judy immediately noticed, a normal bar. She had to push her way through a waterfall of beads that jingled when her ears disturbed them. The floor space was generous and mammals were lounging on massive throw pillows instead of sitting at tables or on regular chairs. Judy was surprised that her feet sank into a finer sand inside the building than on the ground outside. There were no windows and the lights were dialed down to almost nothing. What little light there was reflected brilliantly off the pearl white sand like a starry night.

She plodded through the indoor desert to an open throw pillow that was about twice as big as she was. A few animals gave her odd looks (she was by far the smallest mammal in the house), but most were distracted by their smoking or the modest stage at the end of the bar. There was a mongoose playing some strange lute-like instrument that seemed to have quite the local following judging by how much attention he was getting.

There was a rattle and Judy's ears swiveled, her head following a second later. Someone hadn't gone back to their own business when Judy settled. A massive porcupine shuffled his way over to her pillow and dipped his head. He was wearing a bright red fez and silk pants and fit in with the desert motif as well as a porcupine could.

"I hope you didn't harm Vincent too much getting inside?" His voice reminded Judy of a set of deep wind chimes. He was carrying one of the pipe-like things many of the other animals were smoking from. It had a broad, fat base with a tube coming out the neck. He set it down on the ground beside Judy and held out the tube.

The lute hit a high note and Judy's ears twitched. "Don't know a Vincent," she muttered, puzzling over the strange thing she'd been given. Judy Hopps wasn't a smoker, but maybe Judy Lopps was? Even though she was undercover she didn't want to pick up such a horrible habit like smoking, though.

"He is my bouncer. Usually new arrivals to the Oasis go through a heavy vetting process – unless they get by him through more unorthodox means." The porcupine smiled at the unsettled look on Judy's face. Whether it was to put her at ease or not was not clear. "But I'm being rude. I am Pinyon, the humble proprietor of the Oasis Bar and Lounge. Won't you enjoy a hookah? I've loaded it with a mix of flavored tobacco I think you'll enjoy."

Closer, the little mouthpiece of polished wood had a subtle smell of carrots under the smoke. Judy had no idea what a 'hookah' was, but most everyone else had one of the little tubes in their mouths so it didn't look too dangerous. Trying it would give her a little more time to think about what to say about Vincent, too. She smiled and put the open end of the tube up to her lips and took a deep puff. Predictably she began hacking and coughing from the smoke.

"It's an acquired taste," Pinyon said, patting her on the back. "I recommended smaller, deeper inhales until you get used to it, but I cannot fault your enthusiasm. Could you taste the carrot flavoring?"

"S-Sure. I just had to get through all the smoke to taste it." A few low chuckles came from the shadowy patrons around her. Bravely, Judy tried a smaller, slower puff and was surprised when she did detect the familiar taste of carrots. She still coughed most of the smoke up, but the more even puffs started to ease her racing heart.

Pinyon was still waiting on an answer. He just stood there with his placid smile and silly little fez. Judy took a deep puff and gagged out the smoke to waste more time. "Vincent, right. The coyote."

"That would be him, yes."

"Well, he grabbed me! And …I hid him out back by your dumpster."

The porcupine's quills rattled and started to puff out to their full length. "I trust he is still _with_ us? He has been with the Oasis now for a number of years now."

Judy spit out a cloud of smoke as she began coughing and hacking again. "I didn't kill him!" she hissed. Pinyon visibly relaxed and Judy took a few calming puffs from her increasingly-favorite time waster. "I just tased him! He's my neighbor, for goodness' sake!"

"That's good." Pinyon shook himself and most of the quills went back to lying down flat, though there were a few he had to smooth down by hand. "The Oasis has worked hard to avoid certain types of attention over the years and we do not need something like _that_ to undo all of the work. I trust that you won't break that rule." Judy nodded quickly, still unnerved that the porcupine thought she could have murdered someone. "Good. There is normally a system for membership here, but we make rare exceptions for those who can get past Vincent. I admit that you are the first rabbit member of the Oasis, but, as they say, times are changing."

Pinyon held out his hand. After a moment's hesitation, Judy took it. "Welcome to the Oasis," he said, giving her a firm handshake.

Judy smiled. Not because she was happy to be a member of what was obviously some kind of criminal enterprise, oh no. Judy was happy because she was officially on the 'inside'.

"Of course, we still are going to go through the registration process." Her smile faltered. Pinyon reached back into his back quills and pulled out a small book. "Name?"

"Judy Lopps."

"Occupation?"

Oswalt hadn't given her an answer to this! Judy struggled for a moment before she remembered a line from a crime drama she'd watched once. "I'm _freelance_ right now."

Pinyon grinned and jotted that down. "Aren't we all? Any criminal convictions?"

"Two," Judy automatically chirped. This actually was part of the profile that Oswalt had created for her. She hoped that all the paperwork had gone through for it, though. It wasn't supposed to have gotten this type of scrutiny yet.

"Warrants?" A nod. "Active?" Another nod. Pinyon gave her a flat look. "We protect our member's privacy here, but if the ZPD tracks you down to the bar I won't be standing between them and you. Understand?" A furious nod.

The little book snapped closed and Pinyon tucked it back into his forest of quills. "Good. I have everything I need, so feel free to enjoy the Oasis. We stay open from sun up to sun down. We have live entertainment and plenty of privacy. Your first membership due will come in six months. I'm waving the entrance fees since Vincent was so rude."

"Thanks. Do you want this… _hookah_ back?" Judy would be a little sad if he did.

"No need, they're free to use. You simply have to buy the tobacco and coals. We sell them at the bar." Pinyon waved a stubby little arm toward the back of the room where a massive stone bar was set against the far wall. It was being run by a spotted hyena bartender and off to one side there was a little kiosk advertising different flavors of tobacco. "There is one more thing, but-"

Judy let out a surprised shriek when something sharp grabbed onto her ears. She tumbled out of the pillow and hit the sand. Before she could get up, a tiny foot stepped on her head and used her as a springboard.

Pinyon helped her up. "Apologies. That is what I was going to mention. You were sitting in a cushion reserved for one of our regulars."

"He could have just said something," Judy groused as she shook the sand out of her fur. When her eyes fell on the new occupant of the cushion, her breath caught.

The small, angular face of a fox stared back at her. He was tiny, with big, floppy ears that made him look a little silly, but there was no denying the long snout or the sharp little teeth – teeth that seemed to exponentially multiply when he started chuckling.

"I thought you'd be more comfortable on the ground. Don't you little bunnies like to dig around in the dirt?"

Judy clenched her fist. It wasn't the first time other animals had made a burrowing joke, but fact that this was a _fox_ had gotten to her. "Should someone who's half my size be calling me little? My **foot** is bigger than you, Fox."

The fennec just laughed harder and deeper (which, amazingly, his already-gravelly voice could do). Pinyon put a hand on Judy's shoulder before she could do anything and he gave the fox a look of his own. "Finnick, you know our rules about antagonizing other members."

"Members? You made Dust Bunny there a member? Do we let habitual jaywalkers in now? What's next? People who don't pay their parking tickets? If so, I think I should get bumped up to gold membership because I've got a whole glove compartment full of the damn things."

"No, she tased Vincent and left him by the dumpster. She seems like our kind of clientele."

That makes the fox pause and reevaluate. Judy could see the sly intelligence behind his eyes as he takes her in – the clothing, the attitude, the pros and cons of pushing further. It was something Judy had specially learned to do at the Academy as a cop, but it came naturally to some animals. Some _shifty_ animals, she mentally corrected. Normal mammals didn't think like foxes. They didn't look for weaknesses or ways they could cheat and swindle people.

Judy's own analysis helped calm her nerves. He was a fox, but a fennec. That was the smallest breed there was. There weren't any of them in Bunnyburrow. She could stomp him flat if he tried anything.

"A rabbit meathead. Ain't that a kick in the teeth? Gonna rough me up, Flopsy?"

Something crashed through the beaded entrance to the bar. The lute-playing mongoose hit a bad note and the _twang_ reverberated through the bar like the shot of a gun. Animals who had been engaged in their own conversations now looked up. Judy's back was to the commotion, but Finnick's slack-jawed expression was enough to make her spin around.

 _Vincent_. He was thoroughly ruffled (and maybe a bit charred), but he was standing. And walking. And very, very angry. His yellow eyes caught Judy's blues and he was in motion, bounding through the sand on all fours with a furious intensity. So much for those Academy lessons about crippling a canine's ability to run!

Judy jumped for her life and the furious coyote bulldozed right over Finnick and his cushion. Animals were starting to get to their feet now, but Judy landed right in the middle of the floor and Vincent was right back after her. " **Rabbit**!" He yelled, snapping and snarling, "Get back here!"

They zigged and zagged between cushions and larger animals. Annoyed hands swatted and clutched at them as they made a sandy mess of the bar. An elephant trumpeted when Victor clipped his massive hookah pipe and his trunk slammed down on the sand in front of Judy. She scampered up the enormous appendage and used his tusk as a springboard to get up to the bar's rafters.

Vincent thought he had won and circled the ground directly under her. Pinyon and Finnick were closing in with the porcupine furiously shouting at his bouncer. The coyote got to his hind legs like nothing had happened and dusted himself off.

Pinyon pushed his way past the canine and cupped his hands. "We'll get you a ladder, Miss Lopps. Just hold tight!"

Unfortunately for Vincent, Judy wasn't just waiting for rescue. The second the elephant moved his massive head out of the way she let go of her perch and dropped the giraffe-approved distance.

Several animals gasped, some moved to catch her. Others just watched. Vincent, however, was laughing at something Finnick had said. He wasn't paying attention until the pads of Judy's feet landed on the back of his head.

It was too late then.

The fall had added to Judy's powerful momentum so that when she unloosed her pent-up kick it sent the coyote's head forward like the cocked hammer of a gun. His impact set up another cloud of fine sand that produced another round of complaining from the patrons who hadn't been watching the spectacle, but it was clear as it settled that the chase was over.

Judy clapped her hands and brushed herself off. She gave the scared little fox a lopsided smile. "Sorry about that, Mr. Finnick. We were talking about roughing animals up, right?"

"Shit no we weren't! I was just going to welcome you to the club, Kid."

Behind her, Vincent stirred. All he managed to do is roll over so that his muzzle wasn't completely buried in the sand, though. Pinyon reached down and pulled off his plastic 'event manager' badge that showed he was the bouncer. "I'm so fired," he groaned before he flopped back into unconsciousness.

The porcupine waddled up to Judy. "I've seen Vincent take out a wolf before," he said, awestruck. "No one has ever played him like that." The badge jingled in his hand as he ran a thumb over it. "Miss Lopps, has your employment situation changed in the last…" he checked his watch, "five minutes?"

"Can't say that it has."

Pinyon held up the badge. "Want a job?"

Oswalt had said to be a fixture at the Oasis, hadn't he? She looked down at the little plastic badge in Pinyon's hand and wiggled her nose. It was a poor replacement for her real badge. The one for Judy Hopps, law enforcement officer.

She smiled. "On one condition: print my full name on there."

For Judy _Lopps,_ this badge was enough. For now.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note at the end.

* * *

"You're mad at me, aren't you? I can tell that you're mad. Would it help if you yelled at me some? You seem like you want to yell. Sometimes it can be helpful to yell, you know? Just to let it go and just scream your lungs out. I can just sit here and—"

Bogo slapped his hand over Judy's mouth. Oswalt let out a deep, relieved sigh. "Thank you, Chief," he muttered as he tried to get the hidden microphone in Judy's jacket to sit right. On the other side of him, two mice were sewing in the wiring that would go down to a small battery pack stashed under her collar.

Bogo just massaged his temple with the hand not currently keeping Judy silent. "Hopps, I'm not angry." He was very angry. "I think you've done an admirable job so far." No he didn't.

One of the mice working on Judy's wired jacket slid down her back and she bit down on Bogo's hand in a panic. He pulled away with a hiss.

"Ha…sorry, Chief. Nerves." She pointedly ignored the 'get those things filed down' comment. "It's just starting to hit me that this is a real case."

Judy had gone home from the Oasis as soon as she could get away. Her first call had been to Oswalt and she had told him in exuberant detail how her first outing had gone. He hadn't believed her until she'd sent him a picture of her new ID badge. After that she'd been ordered to get a good night's sleep while they figured out what to do down at the station.

At eight o' clock the next morning Judy got the call to come in. An unmarked car had picked her up a block away from her apartment building and thirty minutes she was sitting down in the Special Branch equipment room with Lieutenant Oswalt and Chief Bogo listening to her full debriefing. Bogo had been slack jawed most of the time and hadn't said much, but his rat companion had made up for it in spades. His entire team had been called in to put names with faces while they jury-rigged something for her first shift as a bouncer.

As it turned out, Judy finally discovered the reason why she had felt more at east in Special Branch – it was ninety percent rodents. Other mammals were undercover officers, but only in certain situations. Most of the ZPD's intelligence came from mice, rats, and other rodents who logged hour after hour on stakeouts and wiretaps. There was no denying that she felt a small bit of kinship with her distant cousins - they were both small animals working in a big animal's job.

That didn't mean she liked them crawling all over her. She glared at one mouse who had decided to take a snack break on her shoulder. "Is all this really necessary?" she asked, trying to subtly shake the little rodent lose. "The wires, microphones, and the camera?"

" _Yes_ ," Bogo emphatically replied. "Hopps, you've already put eyes on at least five different suspects in seven open cases, if your descriptions can be trusted, just from the regular bar population. That porcupine _alone_ is an ex-convict who we have been trying to put back behind bars for **years**." He slapped down a stack of red case files in front of her. "These are all high priority targets. Every mammal in there is likely involved in some kind of criminal enterprise."

Oswalt scrambled up to the top of the files Bogo had plopped down. He looked Judy over from ears to toes and frowned. "It's not the best we've ever done, but it should last you the week. We'll rig up something more permanent in the meantime." He clapped his little hands and a half dozen mice scampered out of her clothes (two more than Judy had thought were working on her). "Now, keep in mind that you're going to have to switch the tapes every two hours and you only have enough film for twenty shots a roll. Try and hide some spares somewhere you can get to them easily. Maybe the toilet tank in the bathroom or something."

Judy pulled her jacket on tighter. It was denim lined with black wool, which was where all the electronics were hidden. She ran a nail over the padding around her neck and only just felt the microphone there. The camera was hidden in her top button. Oswalt might have said it wasn't his best work, but Judy couldn't imagine anything better than what he'd already done.

Bogo fanned out the case files and Oswalt circled around. "I think we should zero in on the fennec," Bogo said. "Peter Finnick, 29 years old. He was in and out of juvenile hall until he was eighteen and then he graduated to the big-boy cages. His first major charge was when he was sixteen and he was picked up after his gang was busted for a turf war. After that, he turned to petty scams and burglary, with some racketeering and extortion on the side. Word from our informants is that he's recently been seen in Tundratown in the company of known associates of the Big crime family, most notably Kozlov Clawitzer."

" _Finnick?_ He's a mobster? He was shaking after I got done with that coyote."

Oswalt walked up and down the fox's biography, head bent and reading line by line. "Not everything is obvious," he said. "Macros Big doesn't just hire the biggest and dumbest. He needs mammals of all sizes and shapes to keep his apparatus running outside of Little Rodentia. His little claws are in half the crime in the city, but he's gotten out of every charge we've hit him with."

"Which is why we need you **not** to screw this up, Hopps." Bogo drummed his hooves on the table. He looked physically pained that he was in this situation. "ZPD is…counting on you."

"How much did it hurt you to say that?" Oswalt laughed. Cigar smoke snaked out between his teeth like he was a furry tea kettle.

Bogo yanked back the case file quick enough that the little rat toppled over. He handed it over to Judy. "We need you to get as many names and pictures of the animals that come to the bar as you can. If you have a chance, chat up the fox. See who he talks to, get those animal's names and faces especially."

Judy flipped through the file. It had a good history of Finnick's life with photos of him in juvie and some candid shots of him on the street. "That's the best one we have," Bogo said over her shoulder, pointing to a group of foxes lounging around a warm den in Tundratown. There were polar bears everywhere with mix of otters and seals. One bear in particular stood out. He was thick in the waist with giant, oversized glasses hanging off the tip of his nose. Finnick was one of the foxes gathered around, but it was a skinny red one talking to the bear.

Judy frowned. A red fox. That was more her avenue of expertise. "Who's he?" she asked, scuffing at the fox's face when her itchy, uncut claws (Oswalt had told her to stop clipping them).

Bogo fished out his glasses and settled them on his broad snout. He studied the fox for a long moment. A mating between a growl and a groan came from him after recognition hit. "Ignore **him**." He slammed the photo back down to the table. "Focus on the fennec and the porcupine."

Well, Bogo wasn't the only one who had bad memories of a fox. The bunny resisted the urge to run her claw along the three scratches buried under the fur on her cheek. "He's already forgotten," Judy muttered. Her eyes flicked back to the polar bears. One stood out. He wasn't the biggest or the strongest-looking. What stood out the most were his gigantic glasses and ancient lounge suit.

Oswalt walked into Judy's line of sight and tapped his foot down on the bear's face. "Noticed Kozlov, did you? About time. He's the biggest player in that room. We think he runs Big's extortion rackets. Other than the shrew himself, Kozlov's the most important bear in Tundratown. You can see he keeps shady company."

"Don't worry about Kozlov yet," Bogo said before Oswalt could go further. He gave the little rat a sour look which was returned in spades. "Focus on the Oasis. That's your job. You're doing good work out there, but don't screw it up."

Never had Judy been so conflicted: was that a compliment or an insult? She settled on it being a little bit of both – just a classic Chief Bogo. She popped a salute and he actually returned it with a little bit of seriousness. Maybe more compliment, then.

"I've already said it, but I won't let the ZPD down. We're gonna get them all, sir."

Bogo pushed back from the table. "Amazingly, I'm starting to believe it. Hop to it, Hopps, and there might be a place on the regular force waiting on you."

The massive water buffalo stomped out of the room and Judy was able to relax, once again only being surrounded by a few mice and Oswalt. She wasn't a sizeist or anything, but bigger mammals made her nervous. Bogo had left his case files and Judy scooped up the picture of Kozlov and the foxes.

"Is this fox problem of yours going to get in the way of anything?" Oswalt asked in his usual blunt fashion. Judy was so surprised she dropped the photo.

"Excuse me?"

"The foxes. You don't like them, or you're afraid of them – whatever. Is it going to be a problem?"

Judy gathered her wits by leaning over to get the dropped photograph. A dozen little fox faces stared back at her. Her teeth clenched. "I am _not_ afraid of foxes," she muttered.

"Then you hate them. Understandable for a rabbit and you probably wouldn't be surprised at how many of them are on the looser side of the law, but you could blow this entire thing if you go out of your way to be antagonistic." The rat took a deep drag from his cigar and added to the hazy cloud starting to linger in the small room. "It's a fine line for prey to walk. You can't show predators weakness, but you can't hate them to the point where they think you can't work with them. Doubly so for your personal predator. Is that understood?"

"Sir, I—"

"Is it understood, Hopps?"

"I…yes, sir. Understood."

Oswalt snuffed his cigar and didn't mention Judy's problem with foxes further. His Special Branch team finished up the last of their modifications to her clothes while he and Judy went over other viable targets for surveillance. When she was finally all briefed and outfitted, she dropped back off at Sahara Square by a different unmarked car.

She plodded up the stairs to her apartment. Her sharp eyes caught a flash of sand-colored coyote tail before it disappeared into a distant apartment and she had to smile - Vincent had more than learned his lesson about picking on rabbits.

Judy discovered that her door unlocked easily without any panicked shaking and she stepped inside. Her mighty little air conditioner had kept things nice and cool in her absence. She bent down to unclip the bindings around her feet and let them slough off as she walked into her living room. In the light of day she could properly appreciate the open floorplan she was given by the department. There wasn't much filling it right now, but Judy was sure she could make a nice little home of this place.

She tiptoed over to the window and pulled the blinds. Oswalt hadn't noticed, but Judy had walked out of the station with more than just a spiffy new jacket. The photograph of Finnick and Kozlov had fit nicely into her new piece of clothing and now she dared to pull it out. Having it in her paws was more than a little bit of a thrill. Technically, it was the first thing she'd ever stolen.

That elation was tempered by the reason she'd taken it. "I am not afraid of foxes," she told herself as she stared at their beady little eyes. The big red one could have been a grown-up Gideon Grey. "I'm not scared of you." That type of conviction only lasted a few moments before Judy felt too silly to continue. She didn't know that particular fox from Adam and, honestly, foxes all kind of looked the same to her. They all had that same svelte profile, yellow eyes, claws for grabbing, teeth for snatching up bunnies…

"I am _not_ afraid of foxes," Judy told herself again, but the lie was obvious.

Okay, so maybe she had a _small_ problem with foxes. It wouldn't get in the way of her work. She wouldn't let it. Finnick wouldn't be a problem and he had been the only fox she'd seen last night. If he brought any of his friends from the photograph she would just treat them like everyone else.

And then arrest them with all due dignity when Bogo gave the eventual order.

A solid knock on her door drew Judy's attention. She let the photo fall to her couch and shuffled over to her door. The peephole was too high up for her to get a look, so she called out, "Who's there?" through the door.

There was a tense moment of silence before an animal growled under its breath. "It's Vincent," they eventually got out.

Judy was instantly wary. Had the coyote come for some revenge? "What do you want?"

"Pinyon just called me. He wants us to come in early."

" _We_? I remember you getting fired last night."

Another aggravated growl. "I got fired from being the bouncer, not from the Oasis. I'm back to being a busboy."

Judy stared at her door long and hard. "One second," she said, ignoring the groan from the coyote, and hopped back to her room. Her taser was retrieved from her nightstand and she tapped the trigger to make sure it had a charge. The blue arc of lightning gave her some electric courage. She put her picture of Finnick and Kozlov in its place.

Back at the door she pressed her ear against the wood. If there were any other animals with Vincent out there they were being quiet. With only a little bit of trepidation, she opened the door. When she saw how the coyote was dressed, she unlocked the door chain and stepped outside.

"Nice getup." She smiled wider when his lip started to curl back. Apparently Pinyon wanted all his busboys to wear pressed two-piece suits. She could only imagine how horrible it would be for Vincent to walk to the bar.

"Come on," he snarled. A few other choice things were said under his breath but Judy let him think she couldn't hear them. Most of them involved her getting squished by a drunk elephant at the bar.

As it turned out, Vincent had a ride to work. Judy was forced to ride in the back of his red pickup truck, but the air felt good on her ears as they zipped through the afternoon traffic in an appallingly lawbreaking way. Judy tallied up at least half a dozen moving violations in the short ride that she added to the coyote's crime tally.

She hopped out of the deathtrap as soon as they were in the Oasis' parking lot. "You have an expired plate," she noticed.

"So go tell a cop," he grumbled as he began tossing garbage back in his cab. Judy had a thought that the reason she hadn't been allowed to sit up front was because of the lack of clean sitting space as much as the coyote's hostility.

Judy found a lot more activity going on inside than she would have thought this early in the day when she got inside. It looked like the entire Oasis crew had been called in. The hyena bartender was going over the sandy main floor with a rake and there were two ferrets behind the bar polishing bottles. Pinyon had all of the hookahs over by the wall and was cleaning out each of old tobacco and water. When he spotted Judy he shuffled over.

"Judy, I'm glad Vincent managed to get in contact with you. I'm lucky that I remembered you said he was your neighbor."

"Sorry. I don't have a home phone set up yet." Judy was suddenly hyper aware of the surveillance equipment wired into her jacket. It had been recording from the moment she'd remembered to switch it on in Vincent's truck. Right now Pinyon's face and voice were being committed to electronic memory.

Judy had an irrational spike of fear that he could somehow know he was being recorded. It was impossible, but irrationality seldom made sense. "I understand," Pinyon said. He put one of his clawed hands on her shoulder and led her over to the bar. "With your warrant situation I doubt you could get any official utilities set up. Don't worry about that, though. I know an aardvark who is a wizard at these sort of things. I could put you in touch."

 _That's a strong case for felony tampering of official paperwork_. "I would appreciate it, Mr. Pinyon."

"It's nothing. I can't have you getting snapped up by the ZPD on my doorstep. I run a respectable business, Judy. It's in everyone's best interest."

Pinyon went behind the bar and motioned for Judy to hop up onto a stool. "What do you care for?" he asked, going for the bottles.

Judy momentarily panicked. She had only ever drank a bit of her family's homemade wine. "I'll just, uh, have a beer. Surprise me."

Something orange and foamy was in front of her. Judy put on a brave face and took a swig, almost recoiling at the strong taste.

"Hopps."

She gagged and started choking. The hyena bartender was walking buy and slapped her hard on the back with a manic little giggle. "Ex-Excuse me?"

"Gods, are you alright, Judy? I said that it must be the hops. Some animals don't like the taste."

Judy pushed the beer far back and away from her. "Right. The hops. They're a bit strong."

"Bit strong for a rabbit, maybe, but I think our special guests tonight will like it just fine."

"Special guests?"

Pinyon held up a claw. " _Very special_ guests. They've rented out the entire bar for tonight. That's why I needed everyone in early."

Very special guests? Judy was almost quivering. Anyone who was special enough to warrant all of this preparation was obviously going to be some kind of super crime lord that would rocket Judy straight to top merits. She could almost imagine it: getting a medal or an accommodation or even being selected for detective! _Rookie rabbit officer nabs Savannah Square's most wanted_ – the headlines wrote themselves!

"Are you even listening to me?"

That detective's badge had to be earned first, though. Judy (reluctantly) pulled herself away from her grandiose daydreams and smiled. "Special guest, very important."

Pinyon rubbed his forehead. "Very important guest. It was a great, great privilege for her to select the Oasis for her business, so everyone has to be on point. You will have an official guest list at the door. No one except our approved guests get in."

Judy nearly saluted the crisp, concise set of orders. Say what you would about the porcupine's morally, he could run a bar. Seeing that he finally had Judy's attention, he fumbled around under the bar for a moment before pulling out a large black case.

"For extra insurance," he said as he slid it over to her.

Inside was a well maintained Z-120 tranquilizer pistol with two extra magazines. It wasn't the industrial-strength Z-250 that the department issued, but it was more than enough for home defense. Even a little one like this, though, could drop a lion in a few hits and was only sold to registered owners.

"First time ever being armed?" Pinyon asked, mistaking Judy's tension for nervousness. "Chances are you won't even have to use it. Our regulars have all been informed of the special client tonight. For the animals that aren't in the know, most will just accept the bar is closed and move on. Others may get an...attitude with the bouncer. You have experience with that, I think."

"So don't let in any bunnies that won't take no for an answer?" She pulled the tranq gun from its case and tested its weight. It was designed for a heavier mammal, but she could make do. "I think I can handle that without the gun."

Pinyon chuckled. "I don't doubt it, but I still want you to wear it. At the very least it helps our image to see an armed bouncer outside the door."

Dutifully, Judy looped the holster around her hips. It felt strange to wear it without her uniform. Not wrong per say – strange. Different. "I don't suppose you have a permit to go along with it? It's a..." Judy caught herself before she quoted the entire tranq gun regulation by memory. "...problem if the police see me with it."

"Don't worry your fluffy little head about the ZPD. After three raids I've learned my lesson." He pointed over his shoulder at the bar's published certificates. Next to his liquor license was a general self-defense warrant for the bar property.

Judy's nose wrinkled. It printed on official City Hall stationary and it had one of the new holographic city seals on the front. It certainly looked official. "Do those things even exist?"

"They do for the amount of money I paid for this one," Pinyon grumbled. "Now, this party is supposed to kick off at seven tonight so the guests should start trickling in any minute now. I don't want any party crashers for this, Judy. I'm trusting you."

That seemed to be the end of Judy's marching orders. Pinyon went back to setting out the hookahs and generally tidying up. No one but Vincent paid Judy any mind as she made for the front door and even he could only spare a sour look before getting back to cleaning off the bar one final time.

Like most of the nights in Sahara Square, it was chilly when Judy stepped outside. The way Zootopia created the miniature climates for the different districts was fairly amazing, but even that technology couldn't completely stave off Mother Nature. Early autumn would be early autumn no matter how much animals designed it otherwise. Judy shoved her paws into her pockets and was thankful that Oswalt had put his recording equipment in a jacket.

The neon palm tree buzzed and flickered overhead. Judy's ears swiveled back and forth. She was still juiced from all the talk about special guests and the real opportunities to do some police good that came with them. When an expensive-looking car pulled into the parking lot, Judy tried to angle her coat collar in the best way so that the camera inside would get a clear picture.

She was not prepared for the entire car to lurch when the giant polar bear driver got out. The abused shocks squeaked so loud that even without her ears she would have heard them. He lumbered to the back door and pulled it open; after reaching inside, he closed it again without anyone else getting out.

What was extra weird is that Judy distinctly heard the different voices of a conversation coming from the bear as he walked toward her.

"Oh my _gawd_ , Karen. You should have _seen_ him!"

That was a female's voice. Judy raised an eyebrow at him but his dower expression hadn't changed one bit. It only broke when Judy stepped right in front of him before he could open the door.

She took a breath and put on her best customer service smile. "Sorry sir, but the Oasis is closed to normal guests tonight. I'm going to need to see some credentials."

With as much incredulity as his face could probably allow, the bear bent down every so slowly until he was eye-level with the bunny bouncer.

Judy just stood there. "Credentials?" she asked.

The bear's lips pulled back. Each of his teeth were as big as Judy's fist and the smell of freshly-eaten cooked fish made the rabbit's skin crawl.

"Just show her your drivers license, Vladimir! We're going to be late for the show!"

Vladimir, the bear, looked absolutely livid. Well, as much as his face could look livid. On any other animal it would just be a scowl, but on this bear Judy felt a jolt of primal fear shoot from the tips of her ears down to the bottom of her feet. He did produce an old Zootopia driver's license, though. His name was on the guest list.

"Silly, she needs to see ours too!"

By now Judy had narrowed down where the other voices were coming from, but it didn't make it any stranger to see the polar bear hold out his massive paw and produce three giggling shrews. One of them gasped when she saw Judy.

"Oh my gawd," she gasped, "it's a bunny rabbit! This bar has a bunny rabbit as a bouncer! That's so cute!"

"Karen! You can't call bunnies cute! My energist is a bunny and she says it's really offensive!" Judy would have felt more appreciative of that defense if the shrew wasn't holding in laughter herself.

Judy leaned in to check both of their identification cards and checked them off the list. The third shrew, quiet and not as giddy, offered hers up as well. _Fru Fru Big_ , it said. Judy crossed that one off her list as well.

The opportunity was too good to resist. "I love your shoes," Judy said. "I don't suppose you're related to Maurice Big?"

The quiet shrew's eyes lit up. "Do you know my dad? He said he had a few friends down at this bar."

Daughter to the biggest crime boss in Zootopia. Take _that_ , Chief Bogo! "I've never met him, but I really admire his work."

Fru Fru smiled even as Vladimir frowned. This time Judy let him past. She felt slightly miffed that her big break was only the _daughter_ of Mr. Big, but surely she would attract some high-profile hangers on?

As the evening wore on, though, it became clear to Judy that this was more of a social gathering for Fru Fru and her friends than any real criminal skullduggery. Shrews and mince and rodents of all shapes and sizes made it past Judy with Vladimir being the only guest that looked like he could be connected to anything shady. Judy couldn't help feeling a little bored at having to stand out in the cold as the party inside really started to take off. Nearly everyone on the guest list was already inside so there wasn't even the prospect of work to look forward to.

Judy glanced over her shoulder. The door was shut tight with only a tiny sliver of light managing to get out from under the door jam. No one was in the parking lot either.

She took a few steps from the door and pulled her tranq pistol. It fit nicely in her paws. "Freeze, criminal," she whispered as she stared down imaginary prey in its sights. In her head they didn't give up without a good chase first.

The little pistol twirled on her finger. She had been on the academy drill team, but they had practiced with the bigger tranquilizer rifles – the pistol tricks she'd taught herself on the weekends. Judy made the heavy black gun dance, spinning forwards and backwards, up and down, faster and faster; she slid it back into her side holster as easily as fitting a glove over her paws.

Judy puffed up her chest. Fru Fru's luxury car was a few parking spaces over and she walked over. Even in the spotty outside lights of the Oasis parking lot it reflected like polished obsidian. Looking at the rabbit staring back at her, Judy had to smile in wonder at the transformation Oswalt had done. Her jean jacket gave her the bulk of the hare she was masquerading as and the dark shirt and pants made her look mysterious. The obvious bulge of a gun at her side made her even more frightening.

She squared up at the reflection. Fast as a whip, she had the tranq pistol out. "You talkin' to me? You must be, because I don't see anyone else." In the low light her tranq gun could easily be mistaken for a much more dangerous gunpowder weapon. She had only shot one once, back at the academy, and the smell of fire and saltpeter had stuck with her. They were banned country-wide, but Judy heard that some of the smaller towns away from Zootopia still had to deal with them. And there was always the Reptile Republic and their warmongering.

Judy imagined it as a real pistol. The little rabbit looking back at her went from seeming vaguely dangerous to being deadly. She wondered if this is what a predator felt like every day when they looked at everyone else.

It was an addictive feeling.

At the edge of her vision, Judy caught an out of place splash of red in the car's reflection. Judy spun, gun out with police precision. An animal had been slinking toward the main door, but it had stopped stock still when Judy had turned.

"Who's there?" she called out, steadily creeping forward the way she'd been taught. "Hands up! I want to see paws!"

"Paws, sure." Two skinny black paws appeared. "There, see? Paws. No need for the gun."

Judy disagreed. Vehemently. The animal, a _fox_ of all things, slowly rose to his full height. He was a good two feet taller than she was and his easy smile was one of white needles. Judy aimed right below his jaw at the point where his white belly fur started to mix with neck. A shot there would put him down in seconds.

She stopped a few strides from him. "Who are you? Why are you sneaking around like a...a..."

"Fox?" His smile became mocking. It quickly evened back out when Judy audibly flipped off the safety of her tranq gun. "Okay, I think we got off on the wrong foot here, Carrots."

Judy jerked her head to the side. "Move," she barked when he didn't get the hint. Grudgingly the fox plodded away from the wall where he'd been skulking out into the parking lot and the light.

The would-be party crasher was a red fox. He wasn't the biggest or tallest Judy had ever seen, but a fox was a fox even if he was in a shaggy button-down shirt and tie.

"Could you take your finger off that trigger?" he asked, hands still in the air. "You're making me nervous."

"Not a chance, Fox. This is a private party."

"Yes, and I'm on the list."

Judy snorted. "Yeah, and I'm a lizard. Guests don't sneak around."

The fox pointed toward Judy's gun with the tip of his claw. "Well, I saw you waving that thing around when I first walked up. I didn't know what to think."

Oh gods, he'd seen her acting like a little kitten! "You didn't see _anything_ ," Judy hissed. "Just…just stay there and let me check this stupid list."

"Anything you say, Carrots," the fox called as Judy moved away. He busied himself with adjusting his stupid looking tie in one of the mirrors.

He was far enough away that Judy took her eyes off him to look down at the guest book. Her eyes flicked from the pages to the fox who now seemed to just be ignoring her in favor of fawning over his reflection.

"What's your name?"

The fox looked up and flashed her a winning smile. "Nick." The way he said his name made all his teeth flash.

Unnerved, Judy looked away and started flipping through her guest book. Nica, Nichole, Nina, Nancy – no Nicks. Judy smiled. Now she was _sure_ the fox was a party crasher! No reservations on showing him the bad end of a tranq gun now.

"Oops, looks like they didn't put me on there."

Judy nearly jumped all the way up to the flickering palm tree sign overhead. That fox – Nick – had somehow gotten right up next to her! She went straight for her holster and found it empty.

Nick opened his paws. The pistol was dangling from one of his claws. In his bigger hands it looked like a toy. "Now, I'm sure you're thinking that letting me in there would be the worst thing imaginable. You have a job to do, we got off on the wrong foot, natural enemies – trust me, I know the drill. But! I'm doing you a **favor**. I happen to be an old friend of the Big family and me showing up would just make little Fru Fru's day."

"You're not going anywhere near this door," Judy growled through teeth clenched in embarrassment. She was a trained police officer and somehow this _fox_ had gotten the drop on her! And taken her weapon! If she had been in uniform Bogo would have melted her badge down for a paperweight.

So, Judy lunged for her tranq pistol. Nick knew it was coming and he danced back with a nimbleness that his tall, slinky form didn't seem naturally capable of. "Quick little bunny, aren't ya?" he taunted. Judy grabbed again and again, each time only swiping at air as Nick passed the gun from paw to paw like he was a performing street magician. Eventually Judy misjudged one of her jumps and found her long feet tangled up by a long fluffy tail. She hit the pavement hard enough to knock the air out of her.

"Whew, that's my exercise for tonight," Nick gibed. He fiddled with the loading mechanism for a few moments before he figured out how to unload all the darts. "There we go." He flicked the little tranquilizers out into the dark parking lot one by one. "Now, while you go and reload your little pop gun, I'm just going to head on inside and see the guest of honor. Have a good night, Carrots."

Judy dug her toes into the cracked pavement. That was not going to be the end of this! Judy Lops didn't back down from anything, not even a fox! Her nails caught on a scuff in the pavement big enough to brace herself and she drew back like a bow.

The fox didn't know what hit him. Judy's jump knocked him forward so that his snout cracked against the front door of the bar. She went for the back of his leg while he was stunned, just like she had with Vincent the coyote, but Nick's body was a good deal more limber than his distant cousin. With one hand wrapped around his snout, Nick used his other and grabbed Judy's ears and yanked her up.

His smirk was gone. Gideon Grey had been all snarls and threats from the start while Nick had been almost affable, but now it was getting hard for Judy's adrenalin-addled brain to tell the two apart. She was almost nose-to-nose with the fox and all she could really see was a hint of his annoyed yellow eyes and flashes of teeth between his fingers.

Nick said something about his nose, but Judy felt like she was two sheets to the wind. She caught the smell of blood -Nick's- and panicked. Her foot came up, no matter how much it hurt to jerk around while Nick still had her by the ears, and cracked into the bottom of his jaw. He tossed her away like he was holding onto a buzz saw.

"You're crazy!" he shouted, pressed back against the wall like a cornered animal. "Completely psycho! Here! Take your little gun!" He tossed it at Judy. It skittered to a halt within an arm's length. Judy snatched it up when she got to her feet and holstered it.

Every step she took toward the twitchy fox filled her with a sense of power. He was running scared. She was better trained than he was and more athletic. They both knew it.

Nick looked between the door and Judy and made a decision: he ran. Judy watched with a sense of wonder as the fox bolted down the sidewalk and off into the Sahara night, clutching his face. Judy stumbled over to the door, more shocked than actually hurt, to lean up against the building. She ended up sliding down to the ground.

The door opened. Music and light spilled out until Pinyon's bulky form plugged the hole. Judy noticed the bottle he'd brought with him and held out her hand. It didn't taste any better than it had before she'd started her shift, but it helped calm her a little.

Pinyon looked her over. Judy was sure her boss thought she'd been through the ringer, what with the bleeding ears from where Nick had snatched her up and all the scuffs from rolling around on asphalt.

She expected Bogo-level yelling. Threats. Questions about her ability to perform. What she got instead, though, was a "Well, keep at it. You still have two hours left on your shift." The porcupine left her another beer and shuffled back inside.

Judy smiled around the lip of her beer. "I'm **not** afraid of foxes," she whispered, knowing that this time, finally, it was the truth.

* * *

For those confused about Kozlov: I'm using the original storyboard for him. The one where he's an older, more independent and gregarious polar bear under boss in Tundra Town. The Kozlov from the movie, Mr. Big's personal bodyguard, will have a new name when he eventually shows up.

A few other characters from the original plot may be making appearances as well, but I won't anyone Badger me into putting someone particular into the story. You catch more flies with Honey than vinegar, after all!

Until next time, thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

"You sure you're up for this?" Finnick asked.

Nick was wondering just that as he hauled himself up a leaky old drain pipe. The Rainforest District made everything slick and wet, with the odd bits of metal posing particular challenges. Finnick, with his tiny body and sharp claws, had little trouble climbing the massive kapok tree like a squirrel. The larger red fox (who kept his nails nice and trim) was forced to improvise, thus the slippery drain pipe.

By the time Nick pulled himself up to the ledge Finnick was sitting at he was well out of breath. It was wet and cold, but Nick slumped down against the sheet metal overhang all the same. Finnick was already starting his second ascent like a champ. It made Nick even more exhausted to watch his small partner.

 _This_ was not how Nick had been planning to spend his weekend. Usually he would be palling around Tundratown or spending the wee hours of the morning in one of Savannah Central's jazz bars. This type of work was an old fox's (or small one's) game. Nick had thought himself graduated from it. Yet here he was, heaving and puffing like an amateur.

He glared down his snout at Finnick, blinking away the drops of water now really starting to pelt him. "No, but I don't really have a choice," he said, answering his partner's earlier question. "Now shut up and keep climbing before this storm gets any worse."

Finnick shrugged and continued to monkey his way onwards and upwards. Nick pulled himself to his feet, only slipping twice, and tried to find a good footing. Again he had to make do with partially climbing on the network of pipes and air ducts that ran through the colossal tree like veins. Nick knew that most of the interior was hollow, like every other "habitat tree" in the district, but access from those inside homes was limited to only a few select units near the canopy.

Units such as the one owned by Samantha Supine which he and Finnick had been scoping for the last week. The well-to-do leopard was one of the top lawyers at Wolf, Ram, and Hart. She wasn't a partner, but word was that she would be considered for it soon enough. Word also was that she had a craving for anything glittery and shiny. Her collection of jewels was extensive and it was said she never wore the same piece twice.

The problem for Nick and Finnick, who both shared a kindred love with Miss Supine for her jewelry collection, was that the leopard also liked her high-rise apartment. Such digs had privileges like 24/7 security for the entire floor of well-to-do renters and the latest electronic security measures.

It was a pity for Samantha (and Nick) that hardly anyone bothered to secure the outside of an eleven hundred foot tree from burglars. The climb had taken four hours already, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel – literally. The top floors of the tree were always lit and those twinkling stars were right in front of their eyes.

Nick pushed himself to try and keep pace with Finnick. He shivered in the drizzle; without a tie or a droopy Hawaiian shirt he felt practically naked, even in his new "work duds". To Nick's consternation and embarrassment he hadn't been able to fit in his old black prowling gear he'd kept at the back of his closet and had to buy a new wardrobe. _Another hundred quid that psycho rabbit owes me,_ he thought. The sharp pang of anger replaced some of the burn in his arms and he gained ground on the smaller fox.

Finnick's little white paw waved in the dark and Nick stopped. The little fennec put a radar dish ear up against the trunk of the tree and listened. Nick pressed his head against the tree trunk as well and heard various bumps vibrating through the wood. To him, though, he might as well have heard nothing at all. Maybe a decade ago he could have teased out some meaning, but those glory days of being a "cat" burglar were been behind him – _had_ been behind him. Now he could only trust that Finnick knew what he was doing and keep an eye on the balcony a hundred or so feet above him.

A few moments later and Finnick started climbing again, but at a decidedly harder pace. Nick clenched his teeth and kept pressing. Twenty feet behind Finnick and the fox hopped onto the balcony. He grasped Nick's paw and helped pull him over the railing a minute later.

"You need to lose some pounds," Finnick whispered. "Remind me again why I brought your fat ass on this job?"

Nick wiped the rain off his muzzle, treating his still-swollen jaw with extra care. "Because I'm the only fox in this city still willing to work with you? Because I'm your friend?" He reached into his backpack and pulled out a small data pad and smirked. "Oh, wait, it's because I haven't pissed off Honey enough that she won't make _me_ custom tools anymore."

Finnick snatched the devise and flipped Nick off. They both crept up to the double glass balcony door and the smaller fox held up Honey's security cracker to the glass. A few seconds after he switched it on there was a buzz from the lock.

"See? Easy money," Nick muttered as he took in the lock. The alarm had been disengaged, but there was still the physical lock to deal with. Finnick kept a sharp eye on the darkened interior of the room while Nick went to work with his picking tools.

A decade ago it would have only taken him about thirty seconds to get the deadbolt open. Now, even after a week of refreshing, he wasted two hair-raising minutes teasing the tumblers until they slipped into place.

That was Finnick's cue to pull an unlabeled can out of his backpack and Nick's nose wrinkled when his partner started smearing his exposed fur with the special grease contained inside. It was the smaller fox's own mix and Nick had to admit it was very effective at making sure there weren't any stray fur fibers laying around that the police could identify, but it smelled horrible. He passed it to Nick and slipped inside to make sure Supine was actually gone for the night.

Nick watched him go with a sense of apprehension. It had been his job to pick the best day to hit the apartment; Finnick had never been very good at guessing how mammals acted. It's what made Nick such a good conman. Nick would feel pretty horrible if the lady of the house was still in and Finnick got himself arrested. Despite all the baiting and snide comments, they were friends. Friends didn't let each other fall on hard times.

And Nick had fallen. He was actually amazed by how much his personal stock had plummeted in a scant two weeks. He was no longer "Nick the Slick", preeminent conman in Mr. Big's outfit. They were calling him "Nick the Drip" now or "Nick, He's Slipped" instead (polar bears weren't terribly creative animals). Word of how he, a _fox_ , had gotten thumped by some rabbit outside the Oasis had spread like wildfire through the circles Nick frequented. Now he was a joke – a predator that had gotten one-upped by his prey.

Never mind that his job had never been to crack heads for Mr. Big. Never mind that Judy Lops was some kind of super freak rabbit that could probably bench press a bus or something. Never mind that he'd given years to the organization. Oh no, none of that mattered. It just mattered that he had gotten roughed up by a bunny. A little cotton-tailed horror that only came up to his stomach. Who he'd snuck up on quoting corny movie lines to her own reflection in a dark parking lot.

Okay, so maybe he could understand it. Didn't mean he liked or appreciated that suddenly being mammalia non grata meant he wasn't getting any of his usual work and had to resort back to crime with actual risks. Nick knew that even he couldn't talk his way out of being caught with an armful of stolen goods, something he'd learned early in his career when he last had to do this sort of thing.

Finnick's face suddenly appeared out of the dark gloom of Supine's bedroom. "She's not around. I've fried the alarm on the front door and we're good to go."

The magic words. Nick finished slathering himself with the oily grease and boldly stepped through the balcony door. His partner was slinking around, but Nick strolled up to the leopard's dresser drawers and started opening all the little boxes on top.

"Could you be more careful? There might be something in here we've missed," Finnick hissed.

Nick sighed as he fished out a rather nice silver chain. "Finnick, my friend, after all these years you've still never figured animals out. Mammals like Samantha Supine don't invest in cameras or tape recorders. They think that their little treetop castle is deterrent enough. The guards, alarms, and checkpoints? Overkill." He flipped the necklace into his backpack. " _Altitude_ over **attitude**. They assume they're safe. I'd be a lot more worried robbing some twitchy rat's house on the wharf than this place."

One of Nick's old rules from way back was that money tended to overrule common sense. If Supine had bothered to install a motion sensor light on the balcony, he would have turned tail and ran. Automatic lights such as that were everywhere in the middle class apartments in Savannah Central, for example, because of all the animals that could shimmy up a drainpipe. The problem was that you had to manually turn them off and on when you wanted to use your balcony – too much trouble for a wealthy woman like Samantha Supine. What animal could get all the way up here without being spotted? What animal would get through her top of the line alarm system?

Nick shook his head at the silliness and dropped a handful of rings into his jingling backpack. By now Finnick had been won over to Nick's way of thinking and he was carefully rooting through a trunk at the foot of Supine's bed. He pulled out a very expensive-looking camera that he dumped into his backpack. Finnick had always had an eye for good electronics.

The smaller fox heaved his backpack. It looked fairly weighty; he'd found a decent haul when Nick hadn't been looking. "Okay, let's bounce."

Nick frowned. "There's still plenty of good pieces left, and we haven't even seen the rest of the apartment."

"Yeah, and the more we take the worse the climb down is going to be. Or do you think you can carry a television down a thousand feet, in the rain, without slipping and becoming a read smear on the sidewalk?"

Finnick made sense. Nick hated it when Finnick made sense. Years of buried thief sensibilities were telling him to agree and leave with the nice clutch of jewelry he'd already gotten away with. Thieves didn't stay out of prison by sticking around, especially not after they'd been so fortunate so far. Years of _conman_ sensibilities told him that was hogwash, though. Nick's gut was saying that he'd profiled Samantha Supine to a T. She would be wining and dining her senior partners all night.

Nick pushed down the voice that still anxiously whispered that he should get while the getting was good. "Go on ahead," he told Finnick. "I'm going to stay a bit longer."

He ignored Finnick's frantic whispers and walked out of the bedroom. It was a spacious, open apartment with a full living room, sunken into the floor, that opened up into a combined kitchen and dining area. Nick frowned at the massive bay window that offered an excellent view of the rainforest district. It was exactly the type of place he had imagined himself having when he was younger.

"Should have been a lawyer," he muttered. Finnick was, no surprise, creeping along behind him. Even though the little fox had just been in here to fry the door alarm his head was swinging every which way. He didn't have the conman's nerves that Nick had.

Nick plodded to the center of the room, between the nice silk sofa and the marble coffee table. A massive plasma television dominated the far wall. It probably costed a fortune all on its own, but Finnick was right. There was no chance of getting it out of the apartment, storm or no storm. No thief would even try.

Finnick tugged on his sleeve. "What the hell are you doing?! Anyone can see you through that eyesore of a window! We've got to get—"

Nick reached down and clamped the smaller fox's muzzle shut. "Shhh, I'm trying to think like a lawyer."

Samantha Supine, to be exact. She was a successful predator lawyer who had given a handful of interviews in local papers over the years. A quick trip to the library had told Nick everything he needed to know. She grew up in one of the old ghettoes downtown and had a burning desire to get as far from those roots as she could.

Nick let go of Finnick's muzzle and walked around the table. A childhood like that, though, never really went away. Your life either became an imitation of the one you wanted to get away from, you wanted to get even with the animals you blamed for it, or you dressed yourself up with enough jewels and flashy things that you could pretend you forgot.

Something like a giant television. Giving it a closer look, Nick could tell that it wasn't the newest model. It had been repaired over the years and there were claw marks on the edges. It looked like just the thing a poor girl from the hood would buy with her first big-time paycheck. Nick had done something similar when he'd moved out, only a fancy silk tie collection was easier to box up and move when you wanted to change apartments.

And then it all clicked. He almost let out an excited yip.

"Help me with this thing," Nick whispered. Finnick threw silent fit, cursing to himself, as he and Nick wrangled the massive television down. All of the little fox's cursing died off when he saw the large safe set into the wall.

Nick smiled and went to work. It was a simple combination lock that he had clinched in under a minute flat. It popped open on well-oiled hinges and Finnick actually pinched himself. "Still regretting bringing my fat ass on this job?" he asked, voice smooth as silk as he began pulling out the _nice_ jewelry. Rings with every example of gemstone, mother of pearl bracelets, three big stacks of cash, and, the centerpiece of the collection, a necklace with an emerald the size of his fist. Finnick had to hold the thing with both hands.

All of it went into their bags. Nick shouldered his, but he didn't follow Finnick back to the bedroom. He headed toward the front door. The smaller fox looked absolutely stricken as he looked out the peephole. He opened the door, pulled out his phone, and gave Finnick a mocking little salute before boldly stepping into the hall.

The truth was, Nick didn't think he could manage a climb back down the tree. He had barely made it up without the material burden of a successful heist weighing him down.

He was prepared, however, for this eventuality. It was amazing how much information an animal could get from a simple 'request for information' letter down at City Hall. For the last week he had been the proud owner of Tapir & Partner's original design bid for the building that had been submitted to the city zoning commission. Those blueprints showed all the best angles for security cameras, which Nick successfully navigated without being seen by keeping his nose pointed down at his smartphone.

His backpack was dropped into the nearest trash shoot, along with his black skullcap and gloves. Dressed in just black pants and a turtleneck, he looked like a typical upwardly-mobile fox walking to the elevator. He even waved to one of the capybara guards as they made their rounds.

And that was how Nicholas Pawelek Wilde left the Kalimantan Canopy a free fox, strolling from the parking garage retrieved backpack in-paw. Days later, when news of the robbery became public, the only description was of a red fox, indeterminate age, indeterminate face, and indeterminate characteristics. The one guard who had seen him couldn't give a reliable description and the only thing the cameras caught were the two black tips of his ears – a trait shared by most red foxes in Zootopia.

One thing was for sure, though. He had managed to basically walk out of the front door with over $80,000.00 in jewels, cash, and small electronics.

* * *

Kozlov let out a belly-shaking laugh. "Walked out the front door! Da _chutzpah_ of this fox!" The polar bear's laugh was joined by nearly everyone within earshot. More than a few of the guests pulled up chairs to Kozlov's table to hear the story again. Nick, for the first time in what seemed like ages, was back in a positive light.

Kozlov's Palace had never been Nick's preferred hangout, but it was the underboss that had allowed Finnick to take him on the hit. For that Nick was more than happy to pal around with the heavy-hitters of Mr. Big's operation. These bears (except for Kozlov) were short on brains, but they made for good company. If you were on a roll there wasn't a nicer place to spend a Friday night.

Someone slid Nick a beer. He had three unfinished congratulatory drinks sitting nearby already, but he dutifully added another to his burgeoning six pack. Finnick was already three sheets to the wind across the table, but there was a very cute artic fox keeping what little sense he had left focused on her. Poor guy. She was going to eat up most of his partner's cut from the job over the course of a (very) pleasant weekend. Finnick just never learned.

Nick felt a fluffy tail trail across his leg as a few more artic foxes joined the group. No way was he falling for _that_ trap again. Nope. He had been a younger, dumber fox.

Didn't mean he wouldn't smile and window shop, though.

A paw poked Nick on the shoulder. "Tell us again how you knew safe would be behind television," a bear asked in his thick accent.

"Well, it was pretty simple when I stopped to think about it," he said, winking at vixen that had tried catching his attention. "I thought of what I would do if I had somehow ended up as an overpaid lawyer after growing up in the slums. Would I put all of my hard-earned money and jewels in a bank or would I want to keep close where I could hold it all in my paws when I got antsy? Ergo, there had to be a safe. It was just figuring out where she stashed it. Where better than behind the first thing that I bought after clawing my way out of poverty?"

Claps all around. Nick held up his paws with mock humility. He even gave them a little bow. Truth was, he _was_ rather proud. Even stacked against his days when he cracked safes for a living this had been a great haul. Even after Kozlov had gotten his cut as both boss and fence, Nick had walked away with a cool twenty grand. That was enough to pay up his rent for the year, buy a few extra amenities around the house, and still put a five-digit donation into his _special_ savings account. The thought of that one left him with a warm feeling in his chest that only had a little to do with the way that one vixen was eyeballing him.

A door at the back of Kozlov's restaurant flew open and a little ball of white fur barreled out. "Nick!"

Nick was nearly knocked over when Kozlov's son, Morris, barreled into him. Even at ten the kid weighed more than Nick did.

"Morris! Be careful," Kozlov admonished, but his eyes were shining behind his glasses. "Remember what I taught you about foxes – they break." The little cub smiled sheepishly and eased off. Nick breathed easier and scooted over to make room for him at the table.

The future head of the Kozlov family had, Nick had to admit, grown on him. Morris was just as gregarious as his father, but without the edge that everyone knew Kozlov had. He was simply a fun, outgoing cub that nearly worshiped the ground Nick walked on. Nick ruffled the little guy's head until his downy white fur started to puff up. Morris giggled and fought to get it back under control.

Kozlov lazily waved a massive paw. An otter waiter was at their table before it had even stopped moving. "I'm getting peckish. Get me ukha with salmon, cod, and perch. Get Nicholas whatever he wants."

Nick knew the menu here by heart. He usually erred on the side of vegetarianism for the sake of being as non-threatening to the majority of Zootopia's population as possible (you had to _trust_ a conman, after all), but a fox could not live on bread or berries alone. "Lox on a bagel, if you don't mind," he said, smiling when Kozlov's muzzle crinkled. "And an extra portion for the usual plate thieves." That brought a grin back to the bear.

As the otter swiftly moved off to prepare the meal, a polar bear plodded over to the table. He was carrying a phone which he handed off to Kozlov. The affable bear shifted and angled his body away from the table with a hint of annoyance at having his night interrupted with work.

That lull in the conversation left the floor open. "So, how many locks did you pick for this one job? I've heard that you were one of the best at it." That vixen again. Nick gave her an exaggerated shrug and leaned back into the cushions of the booth. Morris giggled again behind his paw and Nick gave him a sideways look. That kid was sharper than most thought.

"I've been away from this kind of game for a long time. Maybe when I was younger, but now it takes some concentration." He showed her the pads on his paws. "It's all about practice and having a steady paw."

The vixen cooed. "You don't get as much practice with those digits of yours these days, Mr. Nick? That's a shame. Maybe you should visit my massage parlor. My sisters and I would _love_ to have you as a custo-"

Kozlov slamming his fist down onto the table put an end to the playful back-and-forth. Drinks and food scattered everywhere. The bears all stood, but the smaller animals scattered for cover, including Nick and Finnick's admirers.

There was a cold fire in the eyes behind those coke-bottle glasses. His massive head swung around to the wait staff. " _Out_ ," he growled. The assortment of otters, working-class bears, and one walrus chef did not need to be told twice. Even before the back doors slammed closed, Kozlov was growling the same to the other patrons. There was an implicit order when he glanced about at those remaining at his table that they were to stay. Even Finnick seemed to sober up a bit.

Morris moved to slide off the booth. "Not you, Morris. Stay. Learn." He cozied back up against Nick real quick.

Two great steam clouds bellowed out of Kozlov's nose as he slumped back down. "The Oasis was raided by the _tuchas_ licking police. Three made mammals, up da river."

Nick could have been pushed over by a feather. The Oasis hadn't been seriously raided in years. Once or twice the police had combed the place for animals with active warrants, but if they had arrested Pinyon then this was more than the usual roundup. Nick glanced at Finnick and found his partner struggling to process the information. He had been much more a regular there than Nick.

Kozlov pushed his glasses up behind his ears and pinched the bridge of his snout. "Da big man in da office is angry. His _feygela_ was fond of da place."

"What charges did the cops have for raiding the bar? Pinyon has been running a tight ship for months now."

"What didn't they get him on? Extortion, racketeering, money laundering – da whole bag. _Oy,_ diz whole thing is _fakakta._ " Everyone was quiet as Kozlov drummed his thick claws on the tabletop. "Iz okay. Porcupine has made bail." He turned to his assistant. "Get car."

Finnick pushed back from the table to leave with Kozlov. Luckily for the drunk little fox, Nick was there to catch him before he plowed into the floor snout-first. "Don't give me that look," he muttered. "I'm fine. Just get me to the car."

Nick quickly counted how many drinks the fennec had downed. Too many to not make a scene at the ZPD. Kozlov could handle himself, but Finnick had never been subtle. Nick helped him back up into the booth.

"Look, just cool it here until we get back," he said. "Eat something and get this out of your system. We'll be back in a few minutes with Pinyon. You heard the big guy, he made bail. There's no trouble."

Finnick probably had an argument ready to go, but the words just came out as a deep groan of pain. His head flopped down onto the table and he tugged his massive ears over his head. Nick shook his head and clapped Morris on the shoulder. "Watch him for me, will you?" A happy nod. "Good kid."

Nick was out the front door about the same time as Kozlov's limo pulled up to the curb. The bear gave Nick a look, but his driver waited on the fox to get in. "Cozy," Nick said as he claimed a small space for himself between the far window and one of Kozlov's hulking head-thumpers. They were packed three on the row with the boss taking a bench seat for himself.

"Didn't expect you to come." Away from the judging eyes of his son, Kozlov fished a bottle of vodka out of the car's miniature refrigerator and poured himself a glass before passing around the bottle. "Not after da ting with da rabbit."

It took Nick a conscious effort to keep his tail from bristling. "Pinyon has always been good to me and Finnick despite this bad taste in staffing. I'm just the more sober us at the moment."

Kozlov nodded. "Porcupine iz good earner." He waved disgustedly at the speaker inlaid in the frame next to his head. "Listen to _nafke_ politsiya congratulate themselves on radio. _Fercockt!_ "

Nick hadn't noticed the low hum of the radio over the bouncing of Kozlov's limousine. He leaned and twisted the nob until the practiced voice of a veteran newsman crisply broke the angry silence.

"… _and Mayor Lionheart was personally on hand to congratulate members of the ZPD on recent wave of police raids across Zootopia today. Police Commissioner Hager Bogo today hailed the more than forty arrests as the culmination of many months of police work. Several businesses were confiscated as material evidence to several felonies, including money laundering, illegal gambling, and counterfeit rings."_

The damage was tallying in Nick's head as the reporter kept reading the laundry list of animals arrested, properties seized, and major outfits gutted. They weren't naming names, but the fox was certain that heads big and small were rolling in the organization for this.

" _My fellow Zootopians_ ," the mayor began, _"Today is a momentous day for our fair city. I have been told that_ _ **seventy-two**_ _arrests have been made in sweeps carried out across Zootopia. Criminals of all stripes have been brought to justice by the men and women of the ZPD."_ There was enough canned clapping after every pronouncement to fill a half-hour sitcom. _"And, leading the charge, was none other than ZPD's first_ _ **rabbit**_ _officer, Judy Hopps! She is an officer that, thanks to my Mammal Inclusion Initiative, was given the chance to shine and to prove that in Zootopia a mammal can be anything. It is my pleasure to present to her, on behalf of the city and the ZPD, the ZPD Medal for Valor."_

"Did he just say a rabbit officer?" Nick asked, stunned. Most of the other bears were just as confused and incredulous. Who had ever heard of a rabbit police officer?

The microphone crackled and someone small cleared their throat. _"Thank you, Mayor Lionheart."_ The rabbit, Hopps, had a surprisingly chipper voice. She sounded like the type of cop that wasn't even phased by the crowd or the press that was obviously clamoring around her. _"I am honored for both the commendation I've received as well as the opportunity to serve the animals of Zootopia. My life could have gone down a very different rabbit hole. Today, I met a rabbit who had grown up no more than ten miles from me. We share a background, a hometown, even a first name, but instead of being someone who took pride in her community she was someone who only took. I look at that bunny and I think about how blessed I am to serve in the country's greatest police force. With the greatest chief and the greatest mayor and the greatest animals. Together, if we try, we can regulate crime to the dustbin of history. Thank you."_

Thunderous applause all around. The reporter cut back in with, _"And that was Judy Hopps, latest Medal of Valor recipient. ZNN has exclusively learned of the identity of the rabbit Officer Hopps mentioned in her acceptance speech. A source at City Hall has revealed that Judy Lopps, arrested on two felony counts of burglary, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer, is the rabbit in question. When asked to comment, Police Commissioner Bogo only said that, quote, he is pleased to have gotten a Hopps instead of a Lopps."_

Kozlov reached over and flicked the radio off. His massive head swung around the cab of the limo until his eyes settled on Nick. "Da boss wants us to post bail on _all_ animals from Oasis. Politsiya are problem and we need solution. _Nu_?"

Nick nodded. His jaw throbbed, but he nodded. " _Da_."

He could play nice. It was up to the rabbit if she could do the same.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** So! Here we are again! This time we switched perspectives, which the story will do once in a while. Kozlov makes his big entrance (I try to channel a mix of Woody Allen and Ivan Drago when I write him) as well as a bit of confusion at the end. I will endeavor to keep up this update pace, but I am in the mood to write more Loyalty so we'll see how it all pans out.

Until next time!


	5. Chapter 5

" _Today is a momentous day for our fair city."_

Judy's ankle cuffs rattled as she took a step forward. She was in the middle of a very, _very_ long processing line, but the ZPD had been kind enough to provide television entertainment. Behind her she heard Vincent being strong-armed into a muzzle, but she didn't dare turn around to look at him. That would only give the police a reason to look in her direction.

" _I have been told that seventy-two arrests have been made in sweeps carried out across Zootopia. Criminals of all stripes have been brought to justice by the men and women of the ZPD."_

Ahead of her the flashbulbs of the booking cameras were snapping in a crisp, constant manner. Every few moments the line lurched forward a few steps, sending a ripple of jingling chains up and down the convoy of arrestees.

There were other flashes as well. Just outside the ZPD building a line of reporters were busy snapping away with their personal cameras. Judy didn't hide her face behind a paw like some of the other animals in the line were doing. She _wanted_ to be seen with her bruises, scrapes, and arm sling.

" _And leading the charge was none other than ZPD's first rabbit officer,_ _ **Judy Hopps**_ _!"_

That was the signal. Judy jumped up from the line like a shot. Her manacles, which had been left unlocked, sloughed off at the first bound. Shouts erupted from the police as Judy bolted toward the door. A rhino barreled into view, charging with his head down, but the auditioning escapee' bounded over his horn and landed on his big, flat head. Prisoners hooted, howled, and hollered like they were watching live entertainment and the press outside did what it did best – took pictures.

A quick trunk very nearly caught her unawares. Judy spring-boarded off the rhino just in the nick of time to avoid being caught too soon. A rather slim wolf tried to grab her midair, but all he got for his trouble was a thump on his nose as Judy launched off in yet another direction. Blue uniforms were swarming toward the doors, closing the trap by sheer numbers. Judy finally noticed the white tuft of fur she was looking for and bolted through several pairs of grasping paws that had bent down to catch her. She twisted and turned every which-way to get closer to the one glass door that had been arranged for her. The one right by the press pool.

A slightly-bigger rabbit's foot hooked Judy's and she went sprawling. She felt the pressure of a knee in the small of her back and struggled a bit for the reporters, but there was really no need. Everything had gone _perfectly_.

"Now, if I didn't know better I would say you didn't appreciate our hospitality," Judy's captor said in a much-too-thick country drawl. "I can't have you checking out just yet."

Judy sneered, just like any good villain captured by the good guys would. She wanted so badly to snap something cliche' like, "You never would have gotten me without all your little friends!" or "You think you're all that, but you're not!" Chief Bogo and Oswalt both said it wouldn't be wise to say anything, though. It was enough for Judy Lopps just to be seen. Judy Hopps, though, could say whatever she wanted.

Backs to the cameras, the two rabbits winked at each other. They were the only two mammals around with an inside track.

Amanda Du'Vault – she was the Judy Hopps that Zootopia had gotten to know. The Judy Hopps from the television and radio. Really, she was just an aspiring actress who had left the little town of Podunk around the same time Judy had left Bunnyburrow. A week ago she had been bussing tables in one of Oswalt's infrequent midnight haunts near the station. When the need had arisen for a spare rabbit, she had instantly popped into mind. One non-disclosure agreement later and Zootopia had smiling, photogenic Judy Hopps to celebrate.

As the cameras flashed, Chief Bogo lumbered down from the second floor. Each step was captured on camera and if Judy didn't know better she'd say he'd gotten some makeup for the news. His horns certainly looked shiner than usual.

He smiled at Du'Vault – Judy – as she stepped up with her prisoner. "Hopps. Good work." His eyes flicked down to his actual cop and there was a tiny, buried kernel of amusement there as he schooled his face into one of rote disappointment. "Lopps. Even the most hardened criminal knows better than to try and escape from ZPD Headquarters. I see that we're going to need something special to keep you settled."

He gestured and two other officers walked up to flank. Trailing Bogo, Judy, Du'Vault, and their escorts left the media circus for the back corridors of the station. Judy still had to keep her act, but she felt much more at ease now that all the cameras were off her. She didn't have to analyze every action or facial expression now and the hand clenching her arm was merely guiding instead of pulling.

The chief stopped at a door. "We'll take it from here, you two," he told the escorts. He gave them a _look_ when they seemed hesitant and they quickly moved along, leaving the trio finally alone. No prying eyes, no reporters.

Bogo unlocked Judy's cuffs himself. "Did you really have to turn the lobby into a circus with all the acrobatics?" he huffed. Du'Vault giggled in a very un-Judy way and the water buffalo snorted at her. "I'm pleased you find it humorous, Miss Du'Vault. Now the press with expect _you_ to be able to do all that as well." The laughs quickly died.

"You wanted me to make a scene. I made a scene," Judy pointed out. She scratched at the faint line the cuffs had made on her wrists. "Besides, it was fun."

"Glad that we can serve at your leisure." Bogo's usual snap was tempered by the slight smirk he was unable to fully shake. He pushed open the door.

Judy was the first one in. A smattering of applause began building before she could even get fully in. A meaty shove from Bogo pushed her right into the room before she could pause.

The "smattering" of applause turned out to be a roar in miniature. There must have been over a hundred mice, rats, moles, and other small rodents of the ZPD Undercover Department filling the room, all clapping their little hearts out. Judy stumbled as Bogo ushered her to the front. She finally managed a few embarrassed waves.

Oswalt shuffled up to her. To Judy's surprise, he was wearing his service dress and didn't smell like an ashtray. His thick, wiry whiskers even looked like he'd taken the time to wax straighten them. "I'll be the first to admit that I didn't think you would be standing here," he said, low enough that only Judy could hear him.

"Did you set all this up?" Judy wondered.

"Actually, it was Bogo. He wanted to give you some official recognition." The water buffalo was close enough to hear their conversation, but he kept his eyes to the front and snorted when Judy gaped at him. "He was always a big softie," Oswalt barbed.

Judy's ears picked up a light clattering of hooves and the twinkling of a bell right before a door on the far side of the room opened. A tiny, mousy-looking ewe poked her head in. She looked around nervously at the crowd of rodents before her eyes settled on the real Judy. After that she scampered inside.

"Oh my goodness, is that officer Hopps?" The ewe had a high-pitched, scratchy voice but it seemed to suit her just fine the more she spoke. She stepped right up to Judy and captured her paw in a furious shake. "Gosh, this is just an absolute honor! When Chief Bogo told me about this little ceremony I just couldn't stay away!"

The buffalo himself leaned down to shake the ewe's hand himself. "That's right, Hopps. _Assistant Mayor Bellwether_ wanted to be here personally." He gave Judy a sharp look at not recognizing the guest.

Judy's confused politeness sharpened into nervousness. "O-oh, the Assistant Mayor. Of course! I can't tell you how much it means to me to...to meet you personally."

Bellwether's face split in a wide smile and she furiously waved her hooves. "Oh, I'm nothing special. I still feel horrible for not making it to your graduation, but it was so last-minute. Mayor Lionheart wanted me to stay behind and take care of his meetings." Her flagging smile perked right back up. "I'm here now, though!"

It was infectious how enthusiastic Bellwether was about being there. Lionheart had been quick and perfunctory at her graduation. Judy had gotten the impression that her excellence and graduating early had been an inconvenience. Truthfully, she hadn't thought much of the lion. But Bellwether seemed almost trembling with excitement. Judy couldn't keep the proud smile off her face.

Bogo cleared his throat and the lingering applause broke off. "Well, I think we all know why we're here today," he said. "Miss Du'Vault, if you would?"

The actress blinked a few times before she figure out what Bogo wanted. Quickly, she unpinned the shiny badge on her uniform and passed it over. Judy almost laughed – Bogo pinned it right on her bright orange jumpsuit, but the weight was so comforting. Judy hadn't realized just how much she'd missed it.

Oswalt cleared his throat and snapped to attention. The entire room did the same. Even a hundred tiny rodents could look awe-inspiring if they did that. Chief Bogo straightened up and pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket.

"We all know why we are here today," he rumbled. "An officer has proven herself beyond the normal boundaries of professional or personal service. She has shown the highest personal bravery in the line of duty and at imminent personal hazard to life, limb, and personal consequence. For this outstanding service, Officer Judy Hopps his hereby conferred the Medal for Valor."

Bellwether's smile was bigger than a thousand-watt bulb as she plucked the medal from its case. "City Hall also wishes to thank Officer Hopps for her contributions to Zootopia. It is my sincerest belief that, without her dedication and job competency, we would not have made the single greatest swath of arrests in city history. It is _my_ honor to be the one to pin this on you, Officer Hopps."

There were no television cameras and only a few smartphones went off when Judy saluted Chief Bogo, but it didn't matter. The entire ceremony had been burned into Judy's mind, right down to the individual faces of the mice on the front row. Everyone was clapping and Judy was the proudest she'd ever been in her life.

"You deserve it, Officer Hopps," Bellwether said right when Judy started to look overwhelmed.

Judy just shook her head. "Please, just call me Judy, Ma'am. I'm still technically undercover." She was babbling around her wide smile. She'd gotten the Medal of Valor! The assistant mayor of the city had pinned it on her! "I just can't believe I could be a part of all this."

"Then you have to call me Dawn." Bellwether giggled at Judy's instant surprise. "I'm just the assistant mayor, Judy. There's nothing really important about that. You're the hero of the hour!" She wagged her finger at Judy good-naturedly. "And I am just dying to know how you pulled off all those arrests and stayed undercover, though. Do you have time for lunch?"

"Lunch? But I'm…" She looked up to the chief.

He made a dismissive wave of his hoof. "Du'Vault can get you a spare uniform and keep out of sight for an hour or two. Enjoy it, though. You're going to be on prison rations for the next few weeks."

That was all the encouragement that Judy needed. In a few minutes Du'Vault had arrived with a freshly-pressed uniform for Judy. Even more than the badge, the uniform made Judy feel absolutely at ease for the first time in weeks.

As it turned out, neither Bellwether nor Judy knew where the cafeteria actually was. They wandered the halls together, not really looking very hard and chatting about this or that. Bellwether had some funny stories from City Hall to share and Judy enjoyed the simplicity of it all. She knew that today was her vacation from being undercover and simply let the ewe do the leading

As Judy had expected, no one in the hallways noticed the switch between her and Du'Vault. Even though the difference was as plain as day to Judy, or any other rabbit, bigger animals couldn't seem to tell that one rabbit's set of ears were bigger or that the ear coloring was different. It worked for the ZPD deception, but it was a bit annoying.

After saying eight 'good mornings' to mammals she didn't know, Judy and Bellwether found the cafeteria. There were only a few officers sitting around eating a late breakfast, so the two small animals had the run of the cafeteria line. After two weeks of TV dinners and whatever they had left over from the bar, a good meal from the ZPD was more than welcome to Judy. Bellwether simply got a grass smoothie (which she almost dropped twice).

Judy hopped up onto one of the too-big chairs and stifled her laughter when Bellwether had to struggle to climb up herself. "They r-really need to make these things s-smaller," the ewe wheezed as she finally got up.

"I don't think they were made with rabbits or ewes in mind, Mayor Bellwether – ah, I mean Dawn."

"Well they should, Judy. They really should. I'm going to have a talk with Chief Bogo about it." She took a long slurp of her smoothie. "Well, after this. If he's not too busy. And if it's in the budget."

Judy had to giggle. Bellwether worked herself up fairly quickly, but it was fun to watch her backpedal. Judy wished she'd paid more attention to politics so she could have seen the ewe run for office with a cocksure mayor like Lionheart. Even though she didn't know why, Bellwether caught Judy's giggles and almost swallowed her straw which made them both laugh harder.

"Hey, Hopps!" And then Bellwether abruptly stopped. A pair of wolves bounded over to her table and one wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a good shake. "There's the badass bunny! We missed the ceremony, but that raid was good stuff!"

The other wolf was over by Bellwether. He was leaned over the table, not really paying attention to her, but the ewe was stock still like a surprised opossum. "I saw some helmet video from that raid and it was crazy! Hey, got any vid from your fight with that other rabbit? It must have been a _crazy_ fight!"

"Well, it wasn't easy." In fact, it had almost been impossible to slip away from the bar and meet up with the rest of the ZPD in time for the raid. The best part had been putting the hurt on Vincent a second time. He was going to get some kind of bunny phobia if his bad luck kept up.

"I mean, it had to be like a Macaque Chan movie! Crazy bunny kicks flying everywhere and all kinds of karate moves! You should get that footage and sell it, Hopps! There's probably a dozen reporters out there who would sign over their retirement packages to you right now for it."

Judy sneaked a glance at Bellwether. The ewe didn't look good; she was blatantly staring at the wolf's teeth every time he opened his mouth. "You know," Judy blurted, "I think the chief said some new helmet cam footage was on the police network today! Since you two are so interested in it."

That was all it took. "Are you serious?! Oh man, come on! There's still some popcorn in the break room!" The wolves practically fell over each other trying to get back to their office.

Judy let the silence stand for a few moments while her lunch guest composed herself. To Bellwether's credit, it didn't take very long. She was back in full command of her facilities and only slightly twitchy in seconds. Judy doubted that anyone other than a cop (who happened to be a similarly-sized prey animal) would have ever noticed it.

"So, Dawn." Judy looked up and gave the ewe a small smile. "How long have you been scared to death of predators?" Bellwether's smoothie cup creaked as she grasped it like a life preserver, but she didn't say anything. "It's alright, I won't say anything. My parents are the same way. Dad can't even look at a fox without getting twitchy."

"Your dad doesn't have to be their assistant mayor."

It wasn't just the snappy remark from the sweet little ewe that gave Judy pause – it was the _venom_ in her voice. Bellwether's face was marred by a horrible snarl that would have looked more at home on a criminal than the assistant mayor.

She met Judy's eyes for a brief moment and immediately looked down at the table. When she looked back up all traces of resentment were washed from her face. "Well, Judy, this has just been the best little luncheon, but I think I should get on back to city hall. Lots of work, you know?"

"No, wait." Judy slid off her seat and cut Bellwether off before she could even climb down. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything, but it's just…I know how you feel, a little bit. I still have a bottle of fox repellent."

Bellwether accepted Judy's help down and took her time quietly straightening her dress. Her little hooves fussed with her pockets and adjusted her lapel. It really did seem like she wasn't going to say anything else. It bothered Judy that the assistant mayor, **her** assistant mayor, had this kind of problem.

Judy reached out and grabbed Bellwether's hand. "Come on, we're going to work on this."

"Judy! W-what?" Bellwether's cute little necklace jingled as she stumbled along after the irresistible bunny on their way out of the cafeteria, drawing more than a few amused looks from the other officers. "Where are we going?"

Judy kept tugging. "We're going to give you two hours of good, old fashioned ZPD therapy, Dawn. Just leave it to me or my name isn't Judy Hopps!"

Chief Bogo had given her two hours for lunch, Judy thought. He didn't say she had to spend it in the cafeteria, now did he?

* * *

Short chapter, but it felt right to split it up a bit. Also, ignore the new character tag. Nothing to see here, not at all.


	6. Chapter 6

Judy stood by as Bellwether picked out another dozen bobby pins from her impressive pompadour to relinquish to her attending officer. The alpaca prison guard gave the fluffy lump of wool a few perfunctory pokes and prods, knowing full-well who this little sheep was, before sliding over the sign-in clipboard.

"You know, I don't think the bobby pins actually did anything to hold that up," Judy noticed.

Dawn finished her neat little signature and politely handed the clipboard back. "It's just a habit these days. I get it sheered like this."

Judy ran her fingertips through the fluff on her cheeks. Like her nails, Oswalt had ordered that she stop keeping it neat and trimmed, like a hare. Of course, rabbits actually had longer claws, and hares didn't always look shaggy and unkempt, as she'd tried to tell him, but he'd insisted. "It's how _others_ think a hare should look," he'd said. Now her claws were past the point that she'd normally have been running to the nearest small mammal manicurist.

Still...Judy caught her reflection in one of the one-way windows she and Dawn were walking past and hazarded a smirk at the bunny looking back at her. She _looked_ like an undercover. Unused to the blue uniform, in bad need of some grooming, and even scars on her cheek (from Gideon, of course. Oswalt had also insisted that she stop covering them with foundation).

She felt a tug on her sleeve. Dawn had stopped. "Ah, not that I'm not interested in seeing all of this, Judy, but where are we going? Why did we have to sign in back there?"

Undercover was just her current job, though. Judy Hopps was a police officer first and foremost. "I told you, we're going to help you with your _problem_."

Dawn's eyes tightened and she looked over her shoulder at the alpaca guard too far away to overhear anything. "Judy, I don't have a problem. It's a natural response for us prey to be like that around predators," she insisted. "Maybe _you_ have the problem for _not_ being careful around them."

"Funny, mom and dad make that same argument," Judy laughed.

The ewe's eyes narrowed a bit. "Then they seem like smart and well-adjusted bunnies."

"They're scared to even leave their den once a week to sell carrots, Dawn." Judy darted around behind Bellwether and pushed her forward for the last few mirrors. "Come on, just a bit further! I'll be worth it, I promise."

Eventually, after a lot of stuttered complaining and a doomed attempt to overpower a bunny who weight lifted for fun, the pair made it to the active windows. It had been a guess, but an educated one on Judy's part, to bring the assistant mayor down to the police-side of Interrogation. Now that Dawn was there, her attention naturally gravitated to the large mirror Judy had positioned her in front of.

She nearly bolted again when she saw the angry coyote staring straight at her from the other side, but Judy was ready. "He can't see, hear, or smell you. It's one-way." She firmly pried Dawn's hands away from her eyes. "His name's Vincent and I arrested him last night."

" _You_ did? But...but he's so _big_! And, and look at his _teeth_!"

Judy snorted. "He's smaller than the wolf I took down at the academy and he's down an incisor after he caught my baton with his mouth." She tugged on Dawn's arm again and led her to the next window, where there was a disgruntled serval licking her wounds while an officer peppered her with questions.

Dawn got closer to the glass by herself this time. "Did you catch that one too?"

Judy shook her head. "Taken down by Lieutenant Oswalt's special force on the roof. His _rodent_ special force." Judy giggled at the way Dawn spun around. "They have these little harpoon guns with chords attached that let them **swing** up onto bigger animals. You wouldn't believe it even if you saw it on a television show or something."

The ewe looked skeptical, but she seemed to accept it with the same doe-eyed wonder she'd accepted a bunny beating up a coyote.

But, then she caught herself. The smile faded and the ewe stepped away from the window. "You're amazing, Judy. You're that one in a million outlier they tell us about in school."

"That's not the point I was trying to make," Judy groaned. "I used to get beaten up in school all the time. There was this one fox that made my life a living hell, but you know what? He's stick back in Bunnyburrow and I'm here, in _Zootopia_ , doing what I've always wanted to do."

Judy gestured do the lines of holding cells. "Do you think I just woke up one morning and started taking down mammals bigger than me? I'm a bunny, Dawn! A tiny little bunny! I had to put in more work than anyone else at the Academy, but if I can do it, any animal can do it." Dawn looked extremely dubious of that fact, and Judy just about threw up her arms. "How many rams have you seen on the force just this afternoon? I counted three in the cafeteria!"

"They're _rams_ , Judy," Dawn explained in a voice Judy was quickly starting to identify as Dawn's 'politician' tone. "They have horns and muscles."

"And you're bigger than I am. How do I take down predators without horns and super-charged muscles?"

Dawn's eyes narrowed and her lips pinched into a tight line. "That's not the same thing," she muttered.

"But it's close." Judy reached out and tugged on the ewe's arms, pulled them away from her chest until she was fully stretched out.

"See? Stand up straight, don't slouch all the time, and you're almost as big as a fox! If you take some self-defense classes, you'll be throwing around predators with the best of them."

At the mention of self-defense, Dawn yanked her arms back. "I can't do that, Judy. If the public found out their assistant mayor was taking self-defense classes...the press would have a field day, it's an election year next year...I just can't."

Now Judy couldn't help but throw up her hands at the flimsy excuse. "Dawn, that's just-"

" **Hopps!** "

Judy nearly jumped and Dawn darted behind her as Chief Bogo's horned head poked through the doorway to the police side of Interrogation. The poor alpaca guard was so shocked she snapped the sign-in clipboard in half, but Bogo's little eyes were locked onto Judy.

And he looked _anxious_ rather than **angry**. That was much more frightening than the bull being livid.

He stormed into the hallway and threw a clumped up orange jumpsuit at her. "There's been a change of plans. Get changed and find your arm sling."

Judy knew better than to argue. She ducked behind one of the dividers separating the interrogation windows and tried to ignore the unknowing staring of the bored several still sitting on the other side as she slipped out of her uniform.

"What's happened, Sir?"

"The porcupine made bail. Kozlov is in the lobby to pick him up _and_ to pay the bail of any other mammal that's eligible."

"They're already making _bail?"_ Judy gaped. "They just got processed!"

"And a Tundratown judge pulled jurisdiction since the bar is owned by an 'upstanding member of the Tundratown Chamber of Commerce', whose country club is coincidentally across the street from a certain shrew's limousine business," Bogo replied with a snort. "Arraignments were pushed through an hour ago with bails set for ever mammal arrested. The district attorney is working on finding a judge not in Big's pocket, but for now we've legally got to cut them loose if they can pay."

Judy, disgusted, wrenched her shirt down over her ears and instantly regretted it. Stupid small neck holes not made for bunnies! "There goes all of our hard work," she snapped.

"Not quite. Kozlov is here to post bail for _all_ the arrested animals. Every porcupine, coyote, elephant, rhino, and _bunny._ That includes…"

"Judy Lopps!" Bellwether clapped her hooves together. "Oh, this is just so exciting! It's like a television show!"

"Yeah," Judy mumbled, hopping into her pants and marching toward the door with a purpose. "One where the cop ends up at the bottom of the river wearing concrete shoes. What's the plan for this, Chief?"

Bogo ran one of his hooves thought the cropped hair behind his horns. "Still what it always was – try and get close to Kozlov and his lackeys. Focus on the fennec fox. If Kozlov wants to make you one of his regulars, agree to it and get back to us as quick as possible so we can run any kind of interference."

A titter of a lamb's bell heralded a question. "But…won't that mean Judy will have to _be_ a criminal? Can she do that?"

Judy smiled back over her shoulder at the ewe. "You would be surprised at how much an undercover can do, Dawn." She caught Bogo's glare and amended, "Ah, Assistant Mayor Bellwether. We can do certain crimes as long as we don't break basic police regulations like entrapment or coercion."

"But you need to _**inform**_ us before you go on a crime spree so we can set up a sting," Bogo stressed – to both Judy and the Assistant Mayor. "Which is why your first order of business will be to establish some kind of secure line of communication."

Bogo motioned for the pair to stop a few feet away from the main first floor hallway. There was light traffic, and no one was looking at them, but the giant bull moved to block the view anyway. "Alright, Hopps. The story is going to be that we were getting you checked out by medical and you tried to slip away again. Put this on." He slapped a long cuff onto his own wrist and dangled the other end down to Judy to slip on. "Assistant Mayor Bellwether, it might be best if you go out there first."

"Oh! Of course, Chief Bogo." Her little bell rang as she darted out from behind Judy, but she caught Judy's shackled hand before she did. "You be careful, Judy. And, um…thank you. For, you know."

"We're not done yet," Judy warned with a smile. Dawn, skeptical but still smiling, nodded and cantered off with a jangle, disappearing around the turn in the hallway.

The pair didn't move until a few minutes after they couldn't hear her anymore, but Judy knew it was time to go when Bogo gave her a rough push to get moving. "Give a good showing, _Lopps._ "

Game time.

They joined the general flow and drew pretty much every eye. Judy used the opportunity to practice her glower, meeting confused looks with as much hostility as she could project. In addition from the little thrill she got intimidating animals twice her size or more, she imagined it would also help firmly separate her from Amada DuVault. Other animals had trouble telling rabbits apart anyway and DuVault seemed like the smiling, bubbly sort of bunny. He didn't say anything, but once in awhile Bogo would nod at her as they walked.

The holding cells were at the far back of the station, behind a glassed-in guard checkpoint. Judy thought she recognized a few familiar faces poking their snouts through the bars for a better look at her and the massive police chief.

There was a lion officer in the checkpoint. Bogo slid some some piece of paperwork or another through a little slot and received something in turn. The long handcuff jingled as he began filling it out. Judy waited until he was about halfway down the page before she gave it jerk so hard his pen ripped the page in half.

"That was just childish," Bogo growled as mammals up and down the bloc had a laugh. "Do it again – I'll get Officer Hopps and _she_ can take care of you."

"Get her," Judy challenged right back. "Without all that backup I'll knock both her little bunny teeth out. Bend down low enough and I'll do some dental work on you, too!"

Bogo groaned and carried her over to her cell by the scruff of her neck. Pinyon and Vincent had both scurried back away from the bars when Bogo showed up, but that didn't spare them from his glowering as the tossed Judy inside. "I would say don't try and escape again," he called out as he slammed the bars back shut, "but that wouldn't give us an excuse to add more charges."

"' _That would give us an excuse to add more charges._ '" Judy mocked as he left. "How about you get back here and we can add another charge of assault and battery?"

Pinyon slapped his hand over her mouth. "Judy, you can't say stuff like that!" he hissed. "Just cool it! Be cool!"

"No, let her keep digging that hole. It'll be funny," Vincent laughed. The porcupine glowered at him, but he shrugged and went back to reading a magazine on his bunk. "What? The more heat from this _she_ takes, the better we all look."

Judy (carefully) pried Pinyon's hand away. "Great to see you're looking better after that rabbit cop kicked you in the head. Still got a footprint up there?"

The coyote snorted. "She kicked your little cotton tail too, so don't get smug. While you were goofing off somewhere outside, we were getting raided by the cops. Did you even remember what a bouncer was supposed to do?"

"Right, because I can take a full SWAT team," Judy snapped back. This cover, at least, had been planned. "Got away from them at the door, but Hopps was waiting up on the roof." Vincent rolled his eyes at the excuse, but he didn't question it and didn't seem to realize that the very rabbit who'd laid him out was now in the cell with him.

Pinyon gestured to the other bunk, farther away from the mouthy predator. "Come on, you look like you could use some rest. Get your thoughts together. How's the arm?"

"Bruised," she said. The plan had originally been to fake a fracture so she could reguarlly check out of her prison cell without raising too many questions, but now she might need a functioning arm. Judy made a small show of easing it out of the sling and testing it out. "One of the cops got rough cuffing me."

"When you talk to your lawyer, mention that. Have you ever been arrested before?" Judy shook her head. "Right. Keep your story straight about everything and don't change it. Even if you get caught in a lie, keep it the same. Looks better during testamony."

That was, strictly speaking, sound advice. She pretended to mull it over. "Whatever. I'm not getting out of here anytime soon anyway."

"Sooner than you might think," Pinyon whispered. "There are _contingencies_ for this sort of thing, Judy. The boss won't leave us in here for too long."

Judy tried not to seem too eager. She fell back onto the single pillow and huffed. "Aren't _you_ the boss? I don't remember seeing anyone else back in your office."

"Right now isn't the time for this conversation," the porcupine said. He was still fearfully looking at the bars. "All I'm going to say is that you shouldn't cause any more trouble."

"Yeah, sure." Judy glared at Vincent as he snorted over on his cot, but Pinyon took her at her word and went back to standing up by the bars, peering out as far as he could see.

Judy knew that Kozlov was in the building, but could Pinyon know that too? She didn't see how he could, locked up and isolated like he was back here, but clearly the porcupine was waiting on _someone_. This was the first time since she'd met him that he seemed anxious about something; he'd been in his element back at the Oasis, a lot like Oswalt down at the UC office. Professional. It'd been easy to fall into the same kind of rhythm with him that she had with her real boss.

Now, though...Judy decided not to make any sudden moves in case she spooked him and his quills went flying.

The next hour was spent trying to fight off boredom, surprisingly. Pinyon waited by the cell door for the most part, sticking to his notion that they shouldn't be talking too much. Vincent was pretty absorbed in his gossip rag, so even verbally sparing with him wasn't available. Not that she liked talking to that fleabag, but it was better than just staring at the ceiling.

 _If only Dawn could see me now_ , Judy thought. Sharing a cell with a vicious, criminal coyote...who was laying on his back, reading a tabloid column about which tiger Gazelle was supposedly sleeping with this month (she rotated weekly, any _real_ Gazelle fan could tell you _that_ ).

She was seriously considering roughing up Vincent for that magazine when the heavy door to the holding cells finally slammed open. Judy hopped down off the cot and smushed her face up against the bars, just like Pinyon.

The first thing she noticed - polar bears were _big_. Bigger-than-Bogo big. Her chief looked like a rabbit next to a wolf as he stormed down the hallway with a massive white shadow trailing him.

But someone else was leading the procession. Someone red, loud, and familiar.

"Well, well, well. This must be where they keep the **really** dangerous animals. I bet that drunk goat over in the corner gave you a heap of trouble, Chief Bozo."

Vincent put down his magazine. "Sounds like Wilde," he said, hopping over to the bars next to Pinyon. "I'll be damned! Nick! Down here! Nick!"

The red fox looked eminently pleased to be the center of attention. Animals were pressing in from both sides of the hall, each trying to get a piece of his mind, and he strut out in front like a king as Bogo began unlocking the cages.

"Early Christmas, ladies and gents. Really, next _few_ early Christmases. I had to dip real deep into my piggy bank for all of you to make bail." He flashed a smile as Bogo pulled open the cell Pinyon, Judy, and Vincent were in. " _Real_ deep in your case, pin cushion."

"I'll forgive your outstanding tab in return," Pinyon said. He stepped out at a very quick shuffle, but he gave Nick a sincere grip on the shoulder. Judy heard him whisper, "Thank you, Nicholas," as he went by.

Judy didn't move. The fox was still sporting a lump on his snout where she'd kicked him, and he didn't seem too pleased to see her. Not surprised, though. His attention didn't stray from her, even as Vincent happily slapped him on the back.

Nick suddenly smiled, mouth a like a zipper of sharp teeth, and leaned against the cell door.

"Looks like I'm the one with the magic guest list this time, Carrots. Assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, and _two_ counts of inciting a scurry. Do you have any idea how big your bail is?"

Judy sniffed. Judy Lopps didn't take sarcasm from a bright red throw-rug. "I can add to that if you don't get me out of here."

"You and your one working arm?" Nick scoffed. "Coincidentally, that looks an awful lot like unnecessary roughness. If we pay her bail, we might need to get that checked out by a good Tundratown doctor..."

"Or you can get her out of my horns and she walks with just resisting arrest, her pre-existing burglary charge from Bunnyburrow, and one count of obstruction of justice," Bogo interjected. He projected his usual look of annoyed disinterest, but Judy could read him well enough to know she'd have to answer a few questions later about how she already knew Nick - especially after being told to stay away from him.

The big polar bear, in his glasses and lounge suit, spoke up before Nick could. "Da," he said. "Done. We will post bail for the rabbit."

" _Hare_ ," Judy mumbled as she pushed past Nick. Pinyon and Vincent were waiting at the end of the hall and she fell in with them while Kozlov and Bogo talked bail.

"You're about the scrawniest hare I've ever seen." Unfortunately, Nick followed her.

"Like you can tell the difference," Judy shot back.

He caught her free paw in his and pressed his thumb into the pad there, making her claws jut out.

"Nice _diggers_ ," he said, smiling like she was the world's biggest joke. Judy jerked her hand back and he held his up.

"What's this all about?" Pinyon wondered, looking worriedly back at Bogo and the lion cop behind his glassed-in cage a few feet away.

Nick shook his head. "Nothing much, just proving a point to Carrots." He stepped ahead, motioning over his shoulder at them to follow. "Come on, the car's out front. Kozlov wants you three to ride back with us."

It wasn't a request, Judy could tell. Pinyon and Vincent didn't even question it; they just fell in behind the fox as he walked out of the pits like he owned them and for as much as Kozlov probably had to pay to get all the mammals they'd busted out, he might as well have.

Of course, they didn't leave the police station unnoticed. Nick delighted in the attention, smiling, nodding, and winking his way through the halls with his bright white visitor's badge pinned proudly on his tacky Hawaiian shirt. Judy, being the center of so much earlier attention, didn't escape any notice herself. She didn't scare easily, but being stared at like a rabbit-sized snack by half the police force made her want to dig a hole and crawl down it. Her ears picked up more than a few curses and crude remarks about how badly 'Officer Hopps' was going to take her down next time, too.

"You're so popular," Nick mused as he held the station's side door open for them. It led to the visitor's parking lot instead of the main entry plaza. "Did you know there are still two news crews and a mobile radio station out front? Two guesses who they want to interview."

"I guess - _you_ , for your sparkling personality and a face that was made for radio." Judy smiled. She had been saving that one for a while and she saw the fox's perpetual smirk dip for a moment.

"Don't see why she's so popular," Vincent muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear him. "All she did was get her arm busted."

There was a limousine idling by the curb. It was white, with windows so tinted they might as well have been painted over. Nick tapped on the window and the door popped open...revealing another massive track suit-wearing polar bear that took up two seats by himself. Between him and Kozlov, there wasn't going to be much room.

"Vinnie, you can have shotgun," Nick said, but the coyote looked ready to argue. "Come on, Pinyon can't sit up there and we've got to watch the new girl."

He went, but only grudgingly. Judy didn't confuse his look of anger with anything else as he pushed past her and crawled into the front seat. The window separating the front and back went down and Nick didn't tell him to put it back up, which seemed like concession enough to keep Vincent from being too sore about it.

No one had very much long to squabble over the seating arrangements. Kozlov lumbered out of the station right after everyone was settled. The one open seat was next to Judy, and even small as she was she was still squished when he squeezed in. The bear was not happy. His anger wasn't directed at Judy, but it filled the back of the car like second-hand smoke.

The car lurched forward without any directions from Kozlov. It set in that they were leaving the station when she watched it turn into a small speck outside the window. Two hours ago she was eating lunch with the assistant mayor and now she was in the back of a limousine with the second-most prolific crime boss in Zootopia. Judy could barely believe at how shattered all their plans were now - it was well and truly time to wing it.

But, Bogo be damned, she was _not_ going to be the first mammal to break this silence. Even Vincent wasn't that stupid.

Flickering streetlights lit the cab every few seconds. Kozlov opened up a small compartment under his chair and pulled out a bottle of strong-smelling alcohol, which he didn't offer to anyone else. Judy wondered if getting buzzed would make the inevitable explosion from him better or worse.

In the darkness, Judy's eyes wandered to the fox - Nicholas Wilde. He was slouched, staring out the window with casual ease. Whenever Kozlov erupted, it likely wouldn't be at him. He had basically done all the talking at the station. She couldn't exactly make out his expression, dark as it was, but he must have been wearing that same self-satisfied smirk she'd begun to associate with him.

His head moved and a passing headlight lit his face for a moment; he'd caught her mid-stare. _Foxes can see in the dark_ , Judy reminded herself. She turned away and stared out the opposite window until the skyscrapers of Downtown were swallowed by spires of ice and snow.

Tundratown was pitch-black. There were city ordinances here governing how much ambient light the district could have, because many of the mammals living here were used to six months of darkness naturally and could either almost as well as a fox in the dark or had noses that could guide them just as well. Light was an unneeded luxury.

The other polar bear in the car cracked his window and a blast of chilled air swirled in. The night was unnaturally quiet as well. Only the crunch of snow under the tires followed them to...wherever they were going. Judy had gotten lost the moment they'd left Downtown.

Everyone jostled when the car slowed to stop in the pillowy snow. Judy saw a flickering, onion dome-silhouetted sign that read "Kozlov's Palace" through the window, attached to a massive, snow-covered wooden building that stretched up higher than she could see without leaning forward. She didn't need three guesses to know who the boss here was.

Kozlov was the first one out. He didn't wait for anyone to open the car door for him, even though Judy saw an otter hurrying from inside the 'palace' to do it. The entire limo rocked with his passing as he emerged out onto the curb.

"This is our stop," Nick mumbled as he climbed out after the bear. Everyone else was getting out, so Judy left as well and immediately started shivering.

A second car, a big van, pulled up to the curb behind the limo. The side doors slid open and out hopped the other mammals who'd be collared at the bar. The hyena bartender, a few of the mongoose waiters, and the big hippo bartender that took the daytime bouncer shift.

Kozlov motioned for them all to come to him. "The Palace is open to you tonight," he said. "Dobro pozhalovat - you are welcome here. Get food, get drunk, forget troubles. Tomorrow we work."

It wasn't the warmest of welcomes, but Judy wasn't picky. Everyone else was taking it at face value and heading toward the front door, so Judy fell in behind Pinyon and Vincent, trying to stay out of Kozlov's direct line of sight.

" _Bunny_. Stoy." Judy didn't know a lick of Russian, but she knew an order to stop when she heard one. Pinyon looked back at her with pity, but he didn't stop moving. He wasn't that dumb.

It was just the four of them out there, now - Kozlov, Nick, Judy, and the other bear that had ridden with them. That one reached into his coat and Judy prepared herself to make a run for it, but it only turned out to be a cigar and lighter. Kozlov took a moment to puff the cigar to life and took a deep drag that seemed to ripple contentment through his body. His stony look thawed and a wide, satisfied smile broke through.

"Ah, that is da stuff." Behind his bottle glasses, which looked patently silly with the smile he was wearing, Kozlov looked down at Judy. "You smoke?" Judy shook her head. "Pah! Rabbits need to smoke. Too twitchy otherwise. Boris, get her one."

Another cigar was produced, which Judy struggled to hold with one hand. She completely dropped it when she took her first experimental puff. It wasn't like the hookah pipes she had come to somewhat enjoy at the Oasis - it was more like wrapping her lips around an old stove pipe. The hot smoke burned her lungs and she started hacking up a storm, much to Kozlov's guffawing amusement.

His paw came down hard on her back. It was probably supposed to be friendly, but it only pushed Judy over and into the snow. "There! Now we have smoked together!

He waved his paw at the palace. The glowing cigar flicked around ash and soot that sparked in the slight snowfall. "We will go inside in minute. You are good boychik for trying!"

Judy crawled out of the snow to the ringing of Nick's snickering. "Yeah, I'll give anything the old college try once," she muttered, still coughing.

The bear took another deep drag from one of his now two cigars. "Is good to keep an open mind. Especially you." He pointed one of his cigars squarely at Judy. "Find office tonight, in two hour. Nicholas will keep you company until then."

"Way more than I signed up for-" "No way in hel-"

Kozlov leaned down until he was eye-level with both. Judy's entire vision was filled with white, fluffy polar bear. And teeth bigger than her fist as he smiled at her. "I-I guess I wouldn't mind. For two hours. We're good friends."

"Is good. Nicholas, he's a mensch. You can rely on him." The fox in question pinched his long lips and it didn't take a mind reader to know what he thought about being voluntold for this. "Remember," Kozlov called back as he lumbered toward his bar, "two hours. Enjoy yourself until then!"

"Oh, we'll try to contain our excitement," Nick spat (after the door had slammed shut behind the bear, of course).

His eyes slowly slid from the door over to Judy. They shone like polished coins in the low light, but it wasn't as unsettling as it once would have been. Judy knew firmly where she stood with this fox.

Nick stomped over through the snow and shoved a claw-tipped finger under Judy's nose. "Look. I don't like you, Carrots. I wanted to leave you in that jail cell, but I was overruled. Now you're _here_ , where I do business, and if you mess it up for me I'll find a way to make your little hippity-hoppity life a living hell. Got it?"

 _I can take him, I can take him,_ _ **I can take him**_ _,_ Judy repeated to herself like a mantra as she fought the urge to take a step back away from that one pointy little claw. She turned that fear into anger as she roughly shoved his hand away. "Crystal clear, _fox_. You're out of my fur in two hours. I can play nice."

"Play nice _and_ sane. If you remember how to do either." Nick realized that was as much of a concession as he was going to get and waved his hand for her to follow into the warm, loud den that was Kozlov's Palace.


End file.
